CASTROL
enough for high-performance CPUs and GPUs required by AI.”
As processing power increases, what was once sufficient is now becoming a bottleneck for technology advancement.
Nick Barrett, Senior Engineer – Data Centre Testing at Castrol, points to the ongoing evolution of processing hardware:“ All of those changes going on in the industry lead to higher-powered chips. We can do more work, but that means more heat generation.”
Using automotive expertise to drive data centre innovation Castrol’ s entry into the data centre cooling market builds upon its extensive thermal management experience in the automotive sector, particularly with electric vehicles( EVs). Now, the company is on a pathway of change, exploring opportunities to provide solutions and services that will complement its core lubricants business and provide more value to customers.
When it comes to data centres, Castrol is using dielectric fluids, using its experience with EV cooling systems to inform its approach to data centre cooling solutions. This has enabled Castrol to leverage its existing expertise in a new market.
“ We’ ve been working with dielectric fluids for a long time,” Chris explains.“ Our first EV fluid approval was back in 2013. Now we’ ve got hundreds of EV fluid approvals around the world. Some of those EV fluids are immersion, dielectric fluids that we’ re working on with EV OEMs in terms of immersion cooling their batteries.”
“ What we offer is not just a fluid, but also the service, maintenance and refill as part of our complete solution”
SUNG KIM, HEAD OF DATA CENTRE LIQUID COOLING SOLUTIONS, CASTROL
Chris emphasises that this transition still aligns with Castrol’ s traditional business approach:“ It’ s basically an extension of what we’ ve always done, fluid interaction with an application. It’ s now about understanding how our fluids can improve the performance of data centres.”
The company’ s approach to data centre cooling reflects its broader business strategy, understanding data centre operators’ need for reliable, end-to-end mission-critical solutions.
Sung adds:“ In terms of liquid cooling solutions from Castrol, what we offer is not just a fluid, but also the service, maintenance and refill as part of our complete solution.
134 July 2025