The Danish Technological Institute and Heatflow have developed and tested a 3D printed cooling component for data centers that is intended to significantly reduce energy consumption for server and GPU cooling. Created as part of the European AM2PC research project, the solution uses passive two-phase cooling to remove heat without pumps or fans, while enabling the reuse of excess heat at temperatures suitable for district heating and industrial applications.
Data centers are facing increasing energy demands, particularly for cooling infrastructure. According to the project partners, cooling systems represent one of the largest energy consumers within data centers and therefore offer significant potential for improving overall system efficiency. Rising GPU power consumption, which has increased from 100–200 watts to several hundred watts or more in high-power applications, has further intensified the need for more effective cooling solutions.
In the recently concluded AM2PC project, the two organizations, together with two international partners, developed and tested a 3D printed cooling component for data centers and high-performance computing applications. In testing, the solution achieved a cooling capacity of 600 watts, exceeding the original project target of 400 watts.
AM2PC is a European research project focused on developing a 3D printed component for two-phase cooling of data centers. The project ran from 2023 to 2025 with a total budget of DKK 10 million and was supported by M-ERA.NET, with Danish funding from Innovation Fund Denmark. In addition to Heatflow ApS and the Danish Technological Institute, project partners include Open Engineering and Fraunhofer IWU.
Passive two-phase cooling without pumps or fans
The developed cooling solution is based on a passive two-phase thermosiphon principle. A coolant evaporates at the hot surface of the computer chip, absorbing heat before the vapor rises due to density differences. The vapor then condenses elsewhere in the system, releasing heat, and returns as liquid through gravity. Because this process occurs passively, no pumps are required, resulting in no additional energy consumption for heat removal.
According to the project partners, evaporation-based cooling is significantly more efficient than conventional air or liquid cooling. By maintaining lower operating temperatures, the solution can also help extend the lifespan of computer chips.
The key component in the system is an evaporator, which was developed and manufactured using additive manufacturing. By 3D printing the evaporator in aluminum as a single integrated component, the design eliminates assembly points and reduces the risk of leaks, improving overall reliability. The single-material design also simplifies recycling at the end of the component’s lifecycle.
Enabling reuse of excess heat
A central outcome of the AM2PC project is the ability to extract heat at temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees Celsius. Heat recovered at this temperature level can be used directly in district heating networks without additional energy input. It may also be reused for industrial processes in sectors such as food and beverage production, textiles, paper and pulp manufacturing, or agricultural greenhouse heating, provided these facilities are located close to the heat source.
By comparison, traditional air-cooled data center systems typically extract heat at lower temperatures, limiting their suitability for district heating and industrial reuse. While integration with district heating infrastructure was not a focus of the project, the partners state that the demonstrated performance shows such applications are technically feasible.
Reduced material use and recyclability
In addition to operational energy savings, the project highlights environmental benefits in manufacturing. The use of 3D printing reduces overall material usage compared to conventional cooling solutions composed of multiple components made from different materials.
Because the evaporator is produced from a single material, it can be more easily recycled at the end of its service life without the need to separate materials. As the AM2PC initiative is a demonstration project, final environmental benefits have not yet been quantified, but preliminary life cycle analyses indicate the solution could reduce total emissions by 25–30 percent per unit.
Additive manufacturing advances thermal management across aerospace and data centers
Additive manufacturing has increasingly been applied to thermal management challenges in both aerospace and data center environments. In earlier reporting, 3D Systems detailed how its Direct Metal Printing (DMP) technology is being used to produce complex cooling components for NASA-backed spacecraft programs, enabling lightweight designs with integrated internal channels for heat rejection in space applications.
Separately, an interview with Alloy Enterprises highlighted how 3D printed metal cold plates are being developed for data centers, where increasing processor power densities are driving demand for advanced liquid cooling solutions capable of improving thermal performance and energy efficiency.
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Featured image shows a 3D printed cooling component Image via the Danish Technological Institute.
