As regulatory pressure increases, particularly through the EU F-gas phasedown, data centres are facing a significant shift in cooling strategies. This presentation explores the challenge of managing existing infrastructure that relies on high-GWP refrigerants such as R410A, R134a, and R407C, while simultaneously adopting next-generation cooling technologies driven by AI-enabled heat loads. The resulting supply constraints on virgin HFCs are exposing operators to price volatility, maintenance challenges, and potential risks to uptime.
The session highlights the need for a dual-track transition. While new facilities are increasingly adopting low-GWP refrigerants and advanced cooling technologies such as direct liquid and immersion cooling, most legacy systems will remain dependent on F ...