Castrol fluids get NVIDIA validation for AI cooling

Two of Castrol's direct-to-chip cooling fluids have been validated to meet NVIDIA requirements for AI factory and data centre infrastructure: Castrol ON PG25 and Castrol ON PG25T.

The validation places both products within NVIDIA-Validated AI Factory Infrastructure, a designation intended to give data centre operators, equipment manufacturers and cooling-system providers greater assurance when choosing fluids for AI computing environments.

Demand for liquid cooling has risen as AI and high-performance computing systems pack more processors into data centres, pushing heat output beyond what many air-cooling setups can handle alone. Direct-to-chip systems address that by moving fluid through cold plates attached to components such as central processing units and graphics processing units.

The validation followed a technical review of both fluids covering corrosion resistance, thermal stability, dilution-water quality, propylene glycol base-fluid purity and compatibility with wetted materials. These include metals, plastics, seals and other parts that come into contact with coolant inside a liquid-cooling system.

The review also examined Castrol's business operations and global supply-chain resilience, extending the assessment beyond product chemistry and materials performance. That broader scrutiny reflects the importance of stable sourcing and support as data centre operators scale liquid cooling across multiple sites and regions.

Castrol ON PG25 is part of the company's wider range of direct-to-chip cooling fluids for data centres. In a closed-loop system, the fluid circulates continuously without exposure to the atmosphere, which can reduce evaporative water loss and improve water usage effectiveness in AI infrastructure.

Growing heat

The development comes as suppliers across the data centre industry look for ways to manage the thermal demands of AI servers, which typically use more power and generate more heat than conventional enterprise hardware. Operators are under pressure to increase compute density while managing electricity consumption, water use and equipment reliability.

As those demands have grown, liquid cooling has moved further into the mainstream of data centre design. Direct-to-chip methods are seen as one of the more practical approaches because they cool the hottest components directly rather than relying primarily on air handling to cool the entire room.

For cooling-fluid providers, validation by major chip and systems ecosystems can influence procurement decisions, especially where customers want evidence that fluids have been tested for compatibility with sensitive hardware and long operating cycles. That is particularly relevant in AI deployments, where server uptime and thermal control directly affect performance and cost.

Peter Huang, Global President of Thermal Management & Data Centres at Castrol, commented on the validation.

"As AI infrastructure scales, the industry needs cooling solutions that are effective, practical to deploy and reliable over the long term," said Peter Huang, Global President of Thermal Management & Data Centres at Castrol. "The inclusion of Castrol ON PG25 and PG25T within NVIDIA-Validated AI Factory Infrastructure gives customers added confidence in both the fluids' performance and Castrol's ability to provide consistent global support across markets. It is an important step towards making liquid cooling a dependable part of AI factory design and operation."

Product review

Castrol distinguished between the two validated fluid variants, identifying PG25 as OAT and PG25T as IAT. While the announcement did not set out the full commercial distinction between the formulations, it described both as suitable for the scale and operating intensity of modern AI infrastructure.

Sung A. Kim, Data Centre Global Technology Manager at Castrol, said the products had already undergone internal testing before reaching customers.

"We evaluate every thermal management fluid under rigorous test conditions before it reaches the market. The validation from NVIDIA confirms that PG25 (OAT) and PG25T (IAT) hold up to that standard, even at the scale and intensity of today's AI infrastructure," said Kim.

Castrol's thermal management business develops fluids for data centres and energy storage systems under the Castrol ON brand. It serves markets in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, China, Australia and Southeast Asia.

The validation adds to competition among suppliers seeking a role in the build-out of AI data centres, where cooling is becoming a more visible part of infrastructure planning alongside semiconductors, power distribution and networking. The assessment covered not only fluid performance but also Castrol's ability to provide global support across markets.