ZutaCore HyperCool Two-Phase Direct-to-Chip
Manufacturer: ZutaCore
HyperCool is two-phase direct-to-chip cooling on a dielectric refrigerant, not immersion, and needs 0.3 L/min per 1000 W of chip load.
This model is part of SecondWatt’s liquid cooling research catalogue. Specifications and price observations are included where supported by sources. Equipment availability and commercial terms require confirmation.
ZutaCore HyperCool two-phase direct-to-chip cooling dossier: published specifications, deployment context and inspection guidance.
ZutaCore HyperCool two-phase direct-on-chip cooling technology. Uses waterless evaporative cooling to manage 2,000+ W/cm² heat flux — designed for next-gen GPU architectures. ZutaCore publishes a capacity of up to 350 kW, a proprietary dielectric coolant, a two-phase direct-on-chip architecture targeting NVIDIA GB200-class and later accelerators, a supported heat flux above 2,000 W/cm², and zero water use.
Why it matters
Two-phase transport carries heat as latent heat, so HyperCool needs 0.36 L/min to cool a 1200 W NVIDIA B200 against 1.8 L/min for single-phase direct-to-chip water, a fifth of the flow for the same load. ZutaCore states a maximum supported TDP of 2500 W per chip. The working fluid is dielectric, so a breach at the cold plate wets a board with a nonconductive refrigerant rather than glycol-water. What a buyer takes on in exchange is a fluorinated fluid inventory, a refrigerant-based certification route and the regulatory attention that follows both.
Who buys it
AI and HPC operators putting 1000 W-plus accelerators into halls that have no facility water at the rack, colocation providers selling liquid-cooled cabinets inside an existing air-cooled shell, and server OEMs building around a dielectric cold plate. The 6U air heat rejection unit rejects straight into room air at up to 20 kW of rack power, which is the entry point for a retrofit; the 6U water unit takes the same rack to 100 kW. ZutaCore states support for NVIDIA H100 and H200 at 700 W each and processors of 1,500 W or more.
Role in the data center
IT-space thermal management, not part of the electrical power chain. It sits between the server silicon and the facility heat rejection loop: cold plates on CPU/GPU packages, in-rack manifolds, and an in-rack HRU/CDU or sidecar that condenses vapor and transfers heat either to facility water (FWS/CDW loop, downstream to chillers, dry coolers or heat-reuse loops) or directly to room air. Indirectly affects power infrastructure sizing by reducing fan and mechanical load and enabling higher rack power density.
Key specifications
| Architecture | Two-phase direct-to-chip cold plate cooling with a dielectric refrigerant, contrasted by ZutaCore with immersion cooling in which servers are submerged in fluid tanks |
|---|---|
| Rack capacity, 6U Water HRU | Up to 100 rack power kW |
| Rack capacity, 6U Air HRU | Up to 20 rack power at 27 deg C air inlet kW |
| Maximum TDP per chip | 2500 W |
| Flow requirement | 0.3 per 1000 W of chip load; 0.36 for a 1200 W NVIDIA B200 against 1.8 for single-phase direct-to-chip water l/min |
| Heat transfer fluids | Opteon SF33 and R-1233zd, zero ozone depletion potential |
| Opteon SF33 identity and warming potential | HFO-1336mzz(Z), GWP 2, zero ODP, 33 deg C boiling point, listed for two-phase direct-to-chip use |
| R-1233zd identity and warming potential | Solstice zd, GWP 1, zero ODP, ASHRAE A1 nonflammable, 65 deg F boiling point at 1 atm |
| Maximum working pressure, 6U Water HRU | 3 bar refrigerant, 4.5 bar cooling water |
| Maximum working pressure, 6U Air HRU | 3.2 bar |
| Buffer tank, 6U Water HRU | 8 litre |
| Buffer tank, 6U Air HRU | 6 litre |
| Dimensions and weight, 6U Water HRU | 440 W x 1100 L x 266 H mm, 90 kg dry |
| Dimensions and weight, 6U Air HRU | 482 W x 874.5 L x 264 H mm, 55 kg dry |
| Electrical and draw, 6U Water HRU | 120 to 230 VAC at 50/60 Hz, under 0.5 kW, N+1 pump redundancy |
| Electrical and draw, 6U Air HRU | 200 to 240 VAC at 50/60 Hz, under 650 W, N+1 redundancy on pumps and fans |
| Operating envelope, 6U Air HRU | 5 to 45 deg C, 20 to 70 percent relative humidity |
| Enclosure rating, both HRUs | NEMA Type 1 |
| Controls and communications | Local touch screen interface or network access over RJ45 TCP/IP |
| In-rack CDU range | 20 air-based, 60, 70 and up to 120 with dual units kW |
| Row-level CDU range | 1.2 MW and 2 MW end-of-row systems, announced 12 November 2025 |
| Platform support | NVIDIA H100 and H200 at 700 W each, processors of 1,500 W or more, 100 kW per rack |
Technical summary
Two-phase, waterless, direct-to-chip pool-boiling architecture using dielectric heat transfer fluid (Opteon SF33 (HFO-1336mzz-Z) or R-1233zd, non-conductive, non-corrosive, ODP 0, low GWP) with a stated boiling range of roughly 18-50 degrees C. Cold plates documented for processors of 1,500 W and above, with vendor and partner claims of 2,800 W-class device support; OmniTherm PCIe cold plate rated to 600 W per GPU. Rack-level capacity: 6U air HRU up to 20 kW, 6U water HRU up to 100 kW, modular HRU configurations cited from 60 kW (3U) to 120 kW (6U), and a sidecar rated for up to two 120 kW racks or four 60 kW racks (240 kW total). System operating pressure stated as under 3 bar. Circulation requirement stated at approximately 0.3 L/min per 1,000 W of heat load (e.g. ~0.36 L/min for a 1,200 W GPU). Reported partial PUE figures: 1.03 in a SoftBank/Foxconn rack-scale deployment and 1.01 in Compal internal testing; a partner release cites facility PUE below 1.02. Cold plates are low-profile and fit 1U server envelopes. Detailed dimensional, weight and electrical data for the HRUs are published only in ZutaCore's individual product datasheets.
Major variations
HyperCool is a system family rather than a single SKU. Publicly documented elements include: HyperCool dielectric (two-phase) cold plates/evaporators for CPU, GPU and OAM/SXM modules; OmniTherm single-slot two-phase cold plate for PCIe GPU cards; dual-chamber liquid/vapor in-rack manifolds; in-rack Heat Rejection Units / CDUs offered in air-rejection and water-rejection variants (3U ~60 kW class and 6U class, with a 6U air unit documented at up to 20 kW and a 6U water unit documented at up to 100 kW rack power); and a liquid-to-air two-phase sidecar CDU rated up to 240 kW. Server-level integrations carry partner SKUs (e.g. ASRock Rack 6U8X-EGS2/ZC SYN H200, Compal SG720-2A/OG720-2A).
Configurations and options
Heat rejection is the ordered choice and it decides the site requirement. The 6U air HRU rejects to room air and supports up to 20 kW of rack power at a 27 deg C air inlet, drawing under 650 W, with N+1 redundancy on pumps and fans, a 6 litre buffer tank and a 3.2 bar maximum working pressure in a 482 x 874.5 x 264 mm chassis at 55 kg dry. The 6U water HRU rejects to facility water, supports up to 100 kW of rack power, holds an 8 litre buffer tank, runs 3 bar on the refrigerant side and 4.5 bar on the cooling water side, draws under 0.5 kW and weighs 90 kg dry in a 440 x 1100 x 266 mm chassis. ZutaCore's FAQ lists in-rack CDUs at 20 kW air-based, 60 kW, 70 kW and up to 120 kW with dual units, and row-level units at 1.2 MW and 2 MW; the end-of-row family was announced on 12 November 2025. The dielectric fluid is Opteon SF33 or R-1233zd.
Compatibility and dependencies
HyperCool replaces the water loop at the server with a sealed two-phase refrigerant loop, so the facility dependency sits at the heat rejection unit rather than at the cold plate. The 6U air HRU needs only room air between 5 and 45 deg C at 20 to 70 percent relative humidity and no facility water at all; the 6U water HRU needs a facility water connection rated to 4.5 bar while the refrigerant side runs to 3 bar. Fluid selection is itself a compatibility decision, because the two fluids ZutaCore names boil at different points, R-1233zd at 65 deg F and Opteon SF33 at 33 deg C, so a substitution is not a field change. Flow sizing is 0.3 L/min per 1000 W of chip load. Both HRUs are 6U, rated NEMA Type 1, take a single-phase supply and report over RJ45 TCP/IP with a local touchscreen. Server-side qualification is by platform: NVIDIA H100 and H200, and with ASRock Rack the NVIDIA HGX B300.
Pricing and availability
Published price range: ZutaCore publishes no SKU-level pricing. For directional budgeting only, third-party analyses of direct-to-chip liquid cooling cite roughly USD 1,500-3,000 per kW of IT load installed, approximately USD 45,000-65,000 per 42U rack, CDU capital cost on the order of USD 75,000-150,000 per 500 kW and about USD 150,000 per 300 kW, and cold plates at roughly USD 400-800 per GPU. One source places all-in direct-to-chip cooling at USD 6,000-9,500 per kW. These are market-wide estimates from analyst/consultant blogs, not ZutaCore quotations, and should not be treated as vendor pricing.. Directionally, unit pricing per kW of cooled IT load has trended flat to downward from 2021 to 2026 as direct-to-chip cooling scaled from niche to mainstream, while total project spend has risen sharply with rack density. Market volume grew to about USD 5.52 billion in 2025 with a forecast of USD 15.75 billion by 2030 (roughly 23% CAGR), and direct-to-chip holds a dominant share of AI data center liquid cooling, which supports volume-driven cost reduction. Offsetting upward pressures include dielectric fluid cost (engineered fluids cited at USD 12-50 per liter, with two-phase-grade fluids higher), constrained CDU and cold-plate manufacturing capacity, and refrigerant regulatory compliance costs. Net effect: declining cost per kW, rising cost per rack.
Lifecycle and maintenance
ZutaCore states the closed-loop system requires minimal to no maintenance and that the heat transfer fluid is designed to be maintenance-free and never needs replacement. Redundant pumps, sensors and power supplies are cited for HRU availability. ZutaCore does not publish MTBF hours, a service-interval schedule, or a warranty term for HyperCool; industry sources note liquid-cooled systems generally extend IT refresh cycles to roughly 5-7 years, but this is a market-level figure and not a ZutaCore specification. Quantitative reliability data should be requested from the OEM under NDA.
Thermal and emissions profile
HyperCool circulates a dielectric refrigerant rather than water, so unlike a water-to-water CDU it carries a working fluid with a published warming potential. ZutaCore's FAQ names Opteon SF33 and R-1233zd. Chemours publishes Opteon SF33 as HFO-1336mzz(Z) with a GWP of 2, zero ozone depletion potential and a 33 deg C boiling point, and lists two-phase direct-to-chip cooling among its intended uses. Honeywell publishes Solstice zd (R-1233zd) with a GWP of 1, zero ODP and an ASHRAE A1 nonflammable classification. Both are fluorinated. ECHA's PFAS restriction proposal of 7 February 2023 names HFO-1336mzz(Z) and HFO-1336mzz(E) among the f-gases in scope. Charge is bounded per unit by the buffer tank, 8 litres on the water HRU and 6 litres on the air HRU.
Common failure points
- Refrigerant charge and buffer tank — Heat rejection falls as charge is lost from a loop whose reserve is an 8 litre tank on the water HRU or 6 litres on the air HRU
- Air-side heat rejection on the 6U Air HRU — Rated capacity of 20 kW applies at a 27 deg C inlet, and the datasheet publishes lower maximum loads at 30, 35 and 40 deg C, so a warming hot aisle derates the unit before any alarm
- N+1 pump and fan set — Rated performance only reached with the redundant element running, so the first loss is invisible and the second is an outage
- Fluid and cold-plate matching — Evaporator behaviour shifts when the fluid in the loop is not the one the cold plates were designed around, since R-1233zd boils at 65 deg F and Opteon SF33 at 33 deg C
- Enclosure and operating environment — Both HRUs are rated NEMA Type 1 with a 5 to 45 deg C and 20 to 70 percent RH envelope, so condensation or contamination follows any installation outside that envelope
- Monitoring and alarm path — Alarms are unavailable to the building system when the network path fails, since the datasheets name only a local touchscreen and RJ45 TCP/IP and no serial protocol
Inspection checklist
Confirm which unit is on the floor before anything else, since the 6U air HRU and the 6U water HRU share a form factor and differ by a factor of five in rack capacity, 20 kW against 100 kW. Identify the fluid in the loop by name, Opteon SF33 or R-1233zd, and confirm it matches the cold plates the system was commissioned with, since the two boil at different temperatures. Record buffer tank level and system pressure against the published maxima of 3 bar refrigerant and 4.5 bar cooling water, or 3.2 bar on the air unit. Measure the actual air inlet temperature at an air HRU rather than the room average, and compare the load against the datasheet curve at 25, 30, 35 and 40 deg C. Run each pump alone, and on the air unit each fan, to prove the N+1 set. Check the supply matches 120 to 230 VAC on the water unit or 200 to 240 VAC on the air unit. Exercise the RJ45 TCP/IP alarm path end to end.
Procurement channels
ZutaCore sells direct and through server platform partners, with ASRock Rack named on the NVIDIA HGX B300 platform. Product datasheets for the 6U water and 6U air heat rejection units are published as open PDFs, while the in-rack CDU line at 60, 70 and 120 kW and the 1.2 MW and 2 MW end-of-row family announced on 12 November 2025 are described in the FAQ and press material rather than in open datasheets. ZutaCore publishes no list price for any HyperCool unit as of September 2026.
Regional notes
The 6U water HRU takes 120 to 230 VAC at 50/60 Hz and the 6U air HRU 200 to 240 VAC at 50/60 Hz, so both cover North American and EMEA single-phase supplies without a build change. Both are rated NEMA Type 1, a North American enclosure designation with no IP equivalent stated. Because the secondary loop carries a refrigerant, the certification route differs: UL certifies refrigerant-bearing units to UL 60335-2-40 and CSA C22.2 No. 60335-2-40 Annex 101 in North America and to IEC 60335-2-40 with EN 378 internationally, where a water-only CDU is certified to UL/CAN/IEC 62368-1. ECHA's PFAS restriction proposal of 7 February 2023 names HFO-1336mzz(Z), one of the two fluids ZutaCore lists.