The project, located in a data centre in Vimercate near Milan, uses Castrol's single-phase dielectric coolant alongside Submer's immersion tanks and Compal servers.
The proof-of-concept is the latest attempt to show that immersion cooling, where computing hardware is immersed in a coolant that absorbs and dissipates heat, can unlock greater energy efficiency and thermal performance compared to traditional data centre infrastructure.
The deployment uses Castrol ON's Immersion Cooling Fluid DC 20, designed for stable thermal management in single-phase cooling systems. Servers from Compal are immersed in the liquid in a tank from Submer, with the aim of reducing reliance on refrigerant gases and air cooling, both of which emit tons of carbon emissions.
Peter Huang, global VP of data centre thermal management at Castrol, said traditional air cooling systems are struggling with increased computing demands from AI and edge applications.
“Our recent industry research indicates 74% of data centre experts believe immersion cooling is now essential to meet current power requirements,” he said. “By working closely with other industry experts on this project, we aim to showcase how immersion cooling can create more efficient, future-proof data centres that are reliable and scalable.”
The location of the project is notable given Vimercate is increasingly attracting data centre operators, with major players including Equinix, Vantage, Microsoft and AWS investing billions in the region.
Marco Brivio, founder of MGH Systems, said: “As our first deployment in Italy, this proof-of-concept puts the country firmly at the forefront of efficient data centre innovation.
“As designers and integrators of immersion cooling systems, MGH and Dacta are driving more efficient use of data centres, significantly improving both IT power density per square metre and overall energy consumption."
“This deployment is the outcome of a strategic collaboration that redefines how we approach efficiency, resilience, and sustainability in digital infrastructure,” said Franco Caroli, sales director for Southern Europe & Africa at Submer.
“Working alongside MGH Systems, and in collaboration with Castrol and Compal, showcases how we ensure that a deployment isn’t just technically sound, but also commercially scalable. It sets a precedent for what the future of data centres in southern Europe can look like.”
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