Critical Power and Cooling Market – Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast Segmented By Critical Power Type (UPS, Generators and Others), By Cooling Solutions Type (Chilling Units, Cooling Towers, Air Conditioning, Liquid Cooling Systems and Others), By End-Use (Commercial, IT & Telecommunication, Industrial, Transportation and Others), By Region, By Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 22.53 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	8.01%
Fastest Growing Segment	Liquid Cooling Systems
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 35.77 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Critical Power and Cooling Market is expected to grow from USD 22.53 Billion in 2025 to USD 35.77 Billion by 2031 at a 8.01% CAGR. The Global Critical Power and Cooling Market encompasses the specialized infrastructure hardware and services, such as uninterruptible power supplies and precision thermal management systems, required to ensure continuous electrical continuity and temperature regulation for sensitive electronic equipment. The primary driver propelling this market is the exponential expansion of digital data volumes which necessitates robust data center facilities to support global cloud computing and virtualization activities. Furthermore, the absolute reliance of essential sectors like healthcare, telecommunications, and finance on continuous availability creates a nonnegotiable demand for these resilient infrastructure solutions to prevent costly operational interruptions.

One significant challenge impeding market expansion is the difficulty of modernizing legacy infrastructure to cope with rapidly increasing server densities and strict sustainability mandates. Older facilities often struggle to manage the intense thermal output of modern computing equipment without incurring prohibitive energy costs or requiring extensive structural retrofits. According to 'AFCOM', in '2024', '38% of data center professionals reported that their current cooling solutions are inadequate to meet their current needs'. This statistic highlights the operational strain operators face as they attempt to balance the imperative for high capacity performance with capital budget constraints and environmental compliance pressures.

Key Market Drivers

The rapid expansion of hyperscale and colocation data centers serves as a primary engine for market growth, creating immediate requirements for electrical and thermal management infrastructure. As operators race to build larger facilities to accommodate digital services, the need for uninterruptible power supplies and large-scale cooling units scales linearly with floor space and power capacity. This construction boom is quantifiable in recent market activity, which directly translates to hardware orders. According to CBRE, August 2024, in the 'North America Data Center Trends H1 2024', under-construction activity in primary markets reached a record high of "3,871.8 MW", underscoring the massive physical scaling that manufacturers of critical infrastructure must support.

The integration of high-density artificial intelligence and high-performance computing systems is further altering technical specifications within the critical power and cooling sector. AI workloads generate significantly more heat than traditional processing, compelling facilities to adopt liquid cooling technologies and deploy power distribution units capable of handling higher kilowatt loads per rack. According to the International Energy Agency, January 2024, in the 'Electricity 2024' report, global electricity consumption from data centers, AI, and cryptocurrency sectors is projected to double to approximately "1,050 TWh" by 2026. This surge in energy intensity necessitates advanced efficiency solutions. According to the Uptime Institute, in 2024, the industry average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratio remained stagnant at approximately "1.58", highlighting the urgent market need for modern thermal management systems to handle these intense new loads.

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Key Market Challenges

The difficulty of upgrading legacy infrastructure serves as a substantial restraint on the critical power and cooling market. Many older data center facilities lack the physical space and structural capacity to accommodate the weight and piping requirements of modern precision cooling systems or the footprint of high-capacity power backup units. This physical incompatibility forces operators to engage in expensive and time-consuming retrofits before they can procure new equipment, effectively lengthening sales cycles and delaying revenue realization for vendors. When the cost of structural modification approaches the cost of the equipment itself, investment decisions are often postponed.

These modernization hurdles are further compounded by the operational fragility of aging systems which complicate integration efforts. According to 'Uptime Institute', in '2024', 'power-related issues accounted for 52% of all significant service outages, underscoring the struggle of aging power infrastructure to maintain reliability under increasing loads'. This statistic demonstrates that while the demand for reliability is acute, the practical barriers to replacing obsolete infrastructure with new market solutions prevent rapid equipment turnover. Consequently, the market experiences slower adoption rates in the brownfield segment as operators struggle to align modern hardware requirements with the limitations of existing built environments.

Key Market Trends

The Rising Implementation of Lithium-Ion Battery Technology in UPS Systems is reshaping the technical landscape of the critical power market. Operators are aggressively shifting from traditional valve-regulated lead-acid batteries to advanced chemistries that offer higher energy density, faster recharge rates, and reduced physical footprints. This transition is motivated by the need to maximize white space for revenue-generating servers and address the reliability shortcomings of legacy storage solutions. According to ZincFive and Data Center Frontier, August 2024, in the '2024 Data Center Energy Storage Industry Insights Report', '50%' of industry professionals identified energy storage technology limitations as the primary driver for changing their battery backup systems. Consequently, vendors are redesigning UPS architectures to accommodate the specific thermal and charging characteristics of modern lithium-based storage, effectively phasing out older battery technologies in high-performance facilities.

The Integration of Artificial Intelligence for Predictive Infrastructure Management is becoming essential for ensuring operational continuity in complex facility environments. Unlike basic monitoring tools that merely report current status, AI-driven Data Center Infrastructure Management platforms analyze vast historical datasets to forecast equipment failures before they result in outages. This capability allows facility managers to transition from reactive repairs to proactive maintenance strategies, significantly optimizing component lifecycles and reducing emergency service costs. According to Data Centre Magazine, April 2024, in the article 'Predictive Maintenance in the Data Centre: The Power of AI', implementing AI-enabled predictive maintenance strategies can reduce equipment breakdowns by '70%', substantially enhancing system reliability. These intelligent systems automate thermal adjustments and power balancing, ensuring that critical cooling and power assets operate at peak efficiency without constant human intervention.

Segmental Insights

The Liquid Cooling Systems segment is experiencing the most rapid growth within the Global Critical Power and Cooling Market, primarily due to the rising adoption of high-density computing. As data centers support intensive workloads like artificial intelligence and machine learning, the heat generated by servers frequently exceeds the capabilities of traditional air cooling. Liquid cooling provides superior thermal management, allowing operators to maintain system reliability while significantly improving energy efficiency. This adoption is further accelerated by strict environmental regulations, compelling the industry to implement solutions that reduce power usage effectiveness and minimize operational carbon footprints.

Regional Insights

North America holds a dominant position in the global critical power and cooling market due to the extensive concentration of hyperscale data centers and the rapid expansion of cloud computing infrastructure across the United States. This regional leadership is supported by stringent regulations regarding energy efficiency and operational reliability, such as standards established by the U.S. Department of Energy. These frameworks compel organizations in the telecommunications, healthcare, and financial sectors to invest in reliable thermal management and backup power systems to prevent downtime. Consequently, the region maintains a stable demand for infrastructure solutions that ensure continuous business operations.

Recent Developments

• In June 2025, Eaton entered into a partnership with Siemens Energy to offer a fast-track infrastructure solution for deploying data centers with integrated onsite power generation. The collaboration introduced a standardized, modular power plant concept capable of generating up to 500 megawatts independent of the utility grid, utilizing gas turbines and battery energy storage systems. This approach was designed to overcome grid capacity constraints and accelerate project timelines for data center operators. The President of the company’s Electrical Sector noted that the joint initiative provided a scalable and reliable energy supply, enabling the rapid expansion of critical digital infrastructure while supporting sustainability goals.
• In February 2025, Carrier launched a new suite of energy-efficient cooling solutions specifically developed to manage the complete thermal lifecycle of modern data centers. The integrated system, branded as QuantumLeap, combined direct-to-chip liquid cooling capabilities with advanced air-cooling technologies and magnetic bearing chillers to optimize performance from the server chip to the facility chiller. The Executive Director of Data Centers at the company highlighted that the solution utilized intelligent digital controls to adapt to varying loads, delivering significantly improved efficiency compared to traditional methods and ensuring reliability for critical high-density computing environments.
• In December 2024, Schneider Electric announced a strategic collaboration with NVIDIA to introduce a comprehensive data center reference design tailored for high-performance AI clusters. This partnership focused on optimizing infrastructure for the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 platform, incorporating advanced liquid cooling technologies such as liquid-to-liquid coolant distribution units and direct-to-chip systems. The new reference design provided a validated framework for hyperscale and colocation providers, aiming to enhance energy efficiency and streamline the deployment of high-density AI workloads. The initiative underscored the company’s commitment to delivering sustainable, adaptable power and cooling architectures for the evolving needs of the digital economy.
• In November 2024, Vertiv expanded its thermal management portfolio by launching two new coolant distribution units designed to address the high-density heat removal requirements of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The newly introduced liquid-to-liquid and liquid-to-air systems were engineered to facilitate the deployment of hybrid cooling strategies, allowing data center operators to integrate liquid cooling into existing air-cooled facilities. A senior executive from the company’s thermal business unit stated that these innovations were developed to support the rapid densification of computing environments, offering a modular and efficient solution for managing the thermal demands of accelerated computing workloads.

Key Market Players

• ABB Ltd.
• Ac Power Corp.
• Asetek A/S
• Eaton Corporation
• General Electric Company
• Riello Elettronica Group
• Rittal GmbH & Co. Kg
• SPX Corporation
• Schneider Electric SE
• Siemens AG

By Critical Power Type	By Cooling Solutions Type	By End-Use	By Region
UPS Generators and Others	Chilling Units Cooling Towers Air Conditioning Liquid Cooling Systems and Others	Commercial IT & Telecommunication Industrial Transportation and Others	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Critical Power and Cooling Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Critical Power and Cooling Market, By Critical Power Type:

• UPS
• Generators and Others

• Critical Power and Cooling Market, By Cooling Solutions Type:

• Chilling Units
• Cooling Towers
• Air Conditioning
• Liquid Cooling Systems and Others

• Critical Power and Cooling Market, By End-Use:

• Commercial
• IT & Telecommunication
• Industrial
• Transportation and Others

• Critical Power and Cooling Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE