Nominated for the ZVEI Electrifying Ideas Award 2026

Cooling technology as the key to AI sovereignty

For Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be effective on a large scale, it needs more than just algorithms. It needs data centres that can keep pace with the extreme power density of high-performance chips – ideally, with European sovereignty. Rittal, the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research and the deep-tech company etalytics are demonstrating how this can be achieved with direct liquid cooling and AI-supported energy optimisation. Their joint blueprint for scalable European AI infrastructure, developed in Hesse, is now on the shortlist of the top three for the ZVEI’s Electrifying Ideas Award 2026.

Artificial Intelligence promises rapid progress for research, industry and everyday life – with significant relevance for Germany as a business location. Its growth is also determined in the machine room of digitalisation: in data centres, where new high-performance processors (GPUs) process enormous amounts of data for AI applications. New architectures for cooling and power are needed here, as established concepts using air cooling have long since reached their physical limits.

This is precisely where the nominated German project, which draws on international expertise, comes in. Rittal has developed a direct liquid cooling system that uses water to absorb heat directly from the chips. This enables computing power of over one million watts in a very compact space – modular, easy to maintain and designed for large-scale 24/7 operation. Together with GSI, the system was commissioned in Darmstadt at the Green IT Cube and further developed to series production readiness. The green GSI data centre offers the ideal environment: modern data centre architecture with maximum energy efficiency, high-performance computing for the FAIR particle accelerator, and the Digital Open Lab as a development platform. etalytics complements the concept with AI-supported energy optimisation based on digital twins and AI-based control algorithms, thereby reducing the carbon footprint even further.

From bottleneck to key technology with three partners

The result: a niche technology for specialised applications has been transformed into a proven, scalable concept – suitable as a pacesetter for the expansion of sovereign AI infrastructure with expertise and high depth of value creation in Europe. Rapid, system-based scaling is part of Rittal’s international business. The family-run enterprise from Hesse accelerates its customers’ processes not only in industry with systems technology, software and automation. The global player also supplies around 180,000 server racks annually to the major cloud providers in the USA and Asia, known as hyperscalers. Rittal is also working with them in the Open Compute Project (OCP) on international specifications for the AI factories of the future – for racks and, increasingly, for cooling and power distribution.

GSI is internationally renowned primarily for its unique infrastructure for fundamental research. At the future FAIR accelerator centre, researchers from all over the world will conduct experiments to gain new insights into the structure of matter and the evolution of the universe. Beyond research, GSI specifically promotes the transfer of technologies and innovations to industry and the digital economy through its “Digital Open Lab”. External partners can utilise the infrastructure and IT expertise for joint development projects and collaborations centred on data centre infrastructure, high-performance computing and AI.

etalytics creates transparency regarding highly relevant energy consumption and optimises it using an AI-powered platform. Emerging from a research group at TU Darmstadt, the start-up is bringing DeepTech developments from the fields of data analysis, AI and energy sciences from research into practice on an ever-larger scale and for ever-larger companies. Using digital twins of the system, AI thus ensures greater energy efficiency in the use of AI applications.

A major spotlight on AI transformation

The ZVEI is presenting the Electrifying Ideas Award 2026 for the fourth time. The award recognises innovations that use energy efficiently, conserve resources and have an economic and social impact. Federal Minister for Research Dorothee Bär will present the award on 20 May at the ZVEI’s eSummit in Berlin – the leading summit for the electrical and digital industries.

Under the guiding principle ‘Future mAIde with Germany’, politicians, business leaders and society will discuss how AI is being widely utilised in Germany – and what framework conditions bring together technological excellence, competitiveness and sovereignty.

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About etalytics

Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from the “ETA| Energy Technologies and Applications in Production” research group at TU Darmstadt, etalytics GmbH develops AI-powered software for industrial energy optimization. Its flagship platform, etaONE®, enables real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and autonomous optimization of HVAC and cooling systems – helping organizations reduce energy costs, emissions, and operational complexity. etaONE® is deployed in mission-critical environments across sectors such as data centers, automotive manufacturing, and pharmaceutical and chemical production. Recognized for its innovative and sustainable approach, etalytics has received multiple national and international awards.

Lisa Olmert
PR & Communication Manager, etalytics
lisa.olmert@etalytics.com
press@etalytics.com

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