Infosys & ExxonMobil: Immersion Cooling for Greener AI

The infrastructural demands of AI are fast becoming one of the defining challenges of the decade.

Now, two seemingly unlikely partners are taking aim at making AI data centres more energy-efficient with a new approach to cooling computers.

Infosys, the Indian IT and consulting giant, and ExxonMobil, the US oil and gas major, have announced an expanded collaboration to develop and deploy liquid immersion cooling systems for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) data centres.

The initiative, announced on 12 February 2025, will make use of ExxonMobil's proprietary specialised immersion fluid.

The dielectric liquid, which does not conduct electricity and prevents discharges, is designed to cool server hardware by submerging it.

This method could help to dispense with the energy-intensive air conditioning systems that currently dominate data centre operations.

Infosys platforms drive optimisation

Infosys is contributing two of its core platforms to the initiative.

The company's Gen AI-focused suite of services and platforms, Infosys Topaz, will be used to optimise cooling operations in real time, handling predictive maintenance and dynamic energy management across data centre environments.

Infosys Cobalt, which provides cloud infrastructure and deployment services for enterprise clients, will underpin the rollout of these cooling solutions at scale, handling integration across cloud and on-premises data centre environments.

The pairing of AI-driven operational intelligence with cloud-based deployment infrastructure reflects a broader shift in how large technology service providers are positioning themselves as active participants in the engineering of the underlying infrastructure.

This strategic positioning allows Infosys to demonstrate the practical application of its platform capabilities in solving real-world infrastructure challenges, whilst simultaneously expanding its footprint in the data centre services market.

Immersion cooling addresses thermal challenges

AI systems and data centres cannot be allowed to overheat. The most common method of cooling these facilities is by using industrial-scale chillers and air conditioning units, which generally consume substantial amounts of energy.

According to Iceotope, temperature regulation can account for anywhere from 40 to 50% of the energy consumption of data centres. However, immersion cooling technologies can be far more efficient.

For AI workloads in particular, which rely on densely packed GPU clusters running at high sustained power densities, the case for immersion cooling has grown considerably stronger as chip thermal design power continues to rise.

Ashiss Kumar Dash, EVP & Global Head for Services, Utilities, Resources, Energy & Enterprise Sustainability at Infosys, sees his firm's collaboration with ExxonMobil in terms of measurable outcomes rather than aspirational targets.

“Our expanded collaboration with ExxonMobil marks a pivotal step in scaling next-generation solutions,” he says.

“By leveraging Infosys Topaz for real-time AI-driven optimisation and Infosys Cobalt for secure, scalable cloud deployment with ExxonMobil's advanced energy expertise, we are addressing the urgent need for more efficient high-performance digital infrastructure.

“This collaboration has the potential to deliver measurable outcomes by reducing data centre energy costs and carbon emissions, while empowering enterprises to scale responsibly and meet the demands of an AI-powered future.”

Industry collaboration targets infrastructure efficiency

For ExxonMobil, the venture into data centre cooling is a notable extension of its traditional chemicals and lubricants business.

The company's Product Solutions division has been positioning its thermal management products as a solution to the data centre power challenge for some time.

Alistair Westwood, Global Marketing Manager at ExxonMobil's Product Solutions wing, sees the firm's work with Infosys as a new means of applying the team's expertise.

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to innovation by allowing us to apply our energy and thermal management expertise to the evolving landscape of digital infrastructure,” he explains.

“Infosys' suite of AI and digital services is enabling us to pilot and adopt infrastructure that is smarter, efficient and more resilient.”

The collaboration is targeting a broad set of potential clients, including hyperscalers, global enterprises and public sector organisations across financial services, telecoms, manufacturing, energy and government.

The announcement comes at a moment of intense commercial interest in immersion cooling, with a growing number of vendors jostling for position in what analysts expect could fast become a multi-billion-dollar market.

Neither company disclosed financial terms of the expanded collaboration, nor provided specific performance targets or timelines for commercial deployment.

What is clear is that the partnership represents an attempt to bridge two industries, energy and digital infrastructure, whose futures are increasingly entangled, as the power consumption of AI workloads forces data centre operators to reconsider the fundamental engineering assumptions on which their facilities were built.