The rapid growth of artificial intelligence applications such as generative models places heavy loads on data center hardware, which generates large amounts of heat that must be managed to maintain reliable operations.
Minnesota company nVent is among the firms addressing this challenge with liquid cooling solutions that channel coolant to server racks and chips to dissipate heat more efficiently than traditional air-only systems.
Liquid cooling technology differs from conventional air-based methods by circulating water or specialized fluids directly to the heat sources, improving heat rejection and enabling higher computing density.
nVent’s portfolio includes coolant distribution units, manifolds and hybrid hybrid liquid-to-air systems designed to work across a variety of data center setups as operators build infrastructure for advanced AI workloads.
Minnesota Operations Open With New Facilities And Hiring
At its Anoka, Minnesota manufacturing site, nVent is producing components to support data center cooling needs, while plans are underway to open an additional facility in Blaine in early 2026 to increase capacity further.
The company’s expansions reflect accelerating demand as data center operators seek solutions capable of managing the thermal output associated with modern AI computing.
These expansions follow earlier development of a 140,000-square-foot facility in Anoka dedicated to liquid cooling component production and job creation. Combined with the Blaine site, the company expects to add hundreds of new manufacturing roles in Minnesota tied directly to liquid cooling supply growth.
Leadership Focuses On Infrastructure And Workforce Development
Beth Wozniak, CEO of nVent, said the company’s long history in electrical manufacturing and thermal solutions positions it to play a key role in the broader electrification and data infrastructure build-out.
nVent’s products carry coolant to data center servers to prevent overheating and protect critical circuits, a function that becomes increasingly important as AI adoption continues to grow rapidly around the world.
Wozniak noted that building out fabrication and production capabilities to support data center demand also brings opportunities for workforce growth and gender diversity in an industry where top leadership often remains male-dominated.
More than half of nVent’s board of directors are women, and the company’s expansion brings additional opportunities for employment in advanced manufacturing.
Market Dynamics Behind Thermal Management Needs
The data center cooling market has expanded alongside broader investments in AI infrastructure, with liquid cooling seen as a key technology for managing thermal loads while improving energy efficiency. nVent’s work sits alongside partnerships and reference designs in the industry that combine power distribution and cooling solutions for hyperscale facilities.
Liquid cooling systems have become integral for high-performance computing clusters and data centers targeting energy efficiency gains, as they can reduce the need for extensive air conditioning and enable denser server configurations.
Companies like nVent continue to refine distribution units and modular systems tailored to the performance and scaling requirements of emerging AI chip architectures.
What This Means For AI Infrastructure Growth
As AI workloads grow and data centers scale globally, efficient thermal management becomes foundational to operations. nVent’s expansions indicates how companies building physical infrastructure for AI are becoming focal points of growth in regions like the Twin Cities.
That trend reflects a broader industrial shift where advanced hardware systems and support technologies grow in parallel with high-density computing deployments worldwide.
