Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming everything from personalized recommendations to autonomous vehicles, but this digital revolution runs on hardware. We’re not just talking about the high-profile GPUs and processors. Behind the scenes, a vast amount of energy is quietly consumed by a different kind of workhorse: the HVAC systems responsible for keeping AI data centers cool and operational. As AI models grow in complexity and hardware becomes denser and hotter, cooling has shifted from an infrastructure afterthought to a strategic design challenge. Efficiency isn’t just nice to have; it’s absolutely necessary.
AI data centers are fundamentally different from traditional server farms. Housing racks of high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and specialized accelerators, these centers are designed for massive parallel computation. That level of performance requires a lot of energy, which generates a great deal of heat.
The thermal load in modern AI data centers can be more than double what was typical in server centers a decade ago. That heat must be removed continuously, reliably, and efficiently. Enter the HVAC system, the unsung hero responsible for thermal stability and uptime.
Cooling now accounts for up to 40% of a data center’s total energy usage. This is not a marginal concern. With AI data centers running 24/7 year round, even small inefficiencies compound into significant operational costs and environmental impact.
Let’s say a mid-size AI facility consumes 200 MW of total power—80 MW of which may go toward cooling. Improving motor efficiency in HVAC systems by just 3% could save around 2.4 MW continuously. Over a year, that’s over 20 million kWh saved, translating into millions of dollars in energy costs per site, depending on location and rates.
At the heart of HVAC systems are electric motors powering fans, blowers, pumps, and compressors. Traditionally, these motors have used laminated steel cores and conventional topologies. But these approaches are reaching their limits—especially when variable-speed drives, compact footprints, and precision cooling are required.
New demands are calling for new solutions: motors that are smaller, lighter, cooler running, and more energy efficient, enabling direct drive to minimize parasitic losses. That’s where motor topology innovation and material science intersect.
Soft magnetic composite (SMC) materials are enabling the future of motor design. Unlike laminated magnetic materials, SMCs are made of electrically insulated high purity iron powder particles that allow three-dimensional magnetic flux paths throughout the structure. This seemingly simple difference unlocks transformative advantages:
These advantages aren’t just theoretical. They are being deployed today in high efficiency motor applications from EVs to advanced industrial automation and HVAC.
Even small performance gains in HVAC motor efficiency can translate into massive energy and cost savings. Here's a breakdown from our earlier example:
Multiplied across hundreds of AI facilities globally, this efficiency boost becomes a game-changing opportunity!
So far, the focus has been on the stator, where SMC materials shine, but what about the rotor? This opens the door to another emerging opportunity: sintered soft magnetic materials. These offer high density, precision shaping, and excellent mechanical strength to create more efficient rotors for HVAC motors.
Could sintered soft magnetics further reduce rotor losses or enable new designs with lower inertia and better thermal management? The answer is likely yes, but the design space remains open for innovation. It’s a question we’re actively exploring, and we invite system designers to join us in pushing these boundaries!
As you design the next generation of HVAC systems for AI data centers, commercial spaces, or households, don’t overlook the motors driving your thermal infrastructure. Efficient cooling is not just about airflow; it’s about how efficiently that air is moved and how much energy is consumed in doing so. Soft magnetic composites are more than a material upgrade. They’re a pathway to new motor architectures, new efficiency standards, and new opportunities for cost and carbon savings.
So we ask, What could your system achieve if every motor was built for tomorrow’s thermal challenge instead of yesterday’s?