"We’re tackling a trillion-gallon challenge head-on," Ecolab CEO Christophe Beck said, unveiling the company’s massive push to reduce water consumption in AI data centers. The water tech giant has poured $7 billion into this effort over six months, including a $4.75 billion acquisition of CoolIT Systems, which specializes in liquid cooling solutions that cool computer chips directly rather than using traditional air cooling.
Data centers that power AI models can burn through millions of gallons of water every day, a fact that rarely makes headlines but poses a huge environmental problem. Beck predicts that by 2027, these centers will consume over a trillion gallons of freshwater annually. CoolIT’s technology offers a way to slash that figure by delivering liquid cooling right to the hottest parts of the chips themselves, cutting down on waste and enabling recycling of the water used.
Ecolab isn’t new to the water technology scene. In 2025, it bought Ovivo’s electronics division for $1.8 billion, a move that expanded its reach into ultra-pure water for chip manufacturing. The CoolIT deal extends this expertise from making chips to running them efficiently inside data centers, aiming to make these facilities "water-neutral" by returning as much clean water as they consume.
With this acquisition, Ecolab expects its market in high-tech water management to double, growing from $5 billion to $10 billion. The company is aiming for $4 billion in annual revenue from these sectors by 2030. This move reflects a broader trend where tech firms are forced to rethink resource consumption amid rising environmental concerns and operating costs. Meanwhile, investors are keeping a close eye on how water management innovations can influence the future of data-driven industries.
This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
