F E A T U R E

In Formula One, engineers learn to think this way instinctively. No component is judged in isolation. A design that improves one metric but compromises another may not make the car faster. The same principle applies in data centres: the best cooling solution is not simply the one that removes the most heat, but the one that delivers the required thermal performance using the least total energy.

Balancing thermal performance and hydraulic efficiency

The challenge in liquid cooling is therefore not simply removing more heat but doing so with maximum efficiency. That requires balancing two demanding objectives simultaneously: pressure drop as we’ ve discussed and thermal resistance.

Thermal resistance and pressure drop need to be engineered together. Optimising one at the expense of the other can create a system that performs well on a single metric, but less effectively in real operating conditions.

At Conflux, our latest single-phase cold plate designs are achieving thermal resistance as low as 0.0076 ° C / W at 6LPM and a 2500mm2, while maintaining exceptionally low pressure drop, placing them at the leading edge of what is currently achievable in liquid-cooling performance.

For data centre operators, this creates genuine operational flexibility. Higher thermal efficiency can be translated into lower energy consumption, reduced operating costs, higher rack density, or the optimal balance between all three depending on the priorities of the facility.

As AI infrastructure scales, cooling performance will increasingly be assessed not only by thermal capacity, but by how efficiently that capacity is delivered across the full cooling loop.

Better thermal performance starts with better engineering

Achieving this level of performance is not simply a consequence of additive manufacturing. It begins with firstprinciples engineering discipline. Drawing on decades of experience developing thermal management systems for Formula One, high-performance automotive and aerospace applications, Conflux’ s engineering team uses computational fluid dynamics, thermal simulation and additive manufacturing to optimise coolant flow at a microfluidic scale.

Michael Fuller, Executive Chairman of Conflux Technology

The design objective is not just to increase turbulence, add surface area or push more coolant through a component. Those approaches can improve heat transfer, but they can also increase pressure drop and drive pump power. Effective design requires a more precise balance: directing coolant to the areas of highest thermal load, improving local heat transfer and removing unnecessary hydraulic losses wherever they appear.

This is where additive manufacturing becomes powerful. It enables internal channels to be shaped in ways that conventional

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