Trane & Eaton unveil AI data centre reference design

Trane Technologies and Eaton have introduced a joint reference design for AI data centres built for the NVIDIA DSX AI Factory Reference Design.

The integrated approach combines thermal management and electrical system architecture in a single design for next-generation facilities. Compared with conventional low-voltage designs, it can improve energy efficiency by up to 15%, reduce installation costs by up to 30% and cut copper use by up to 80%.

The announcement reflects growing pressure on data centre operators to support heavier AI workloads while managing power use, build costs and deployment times. Trane and Eaton said the design advances medium-voltage systems for higher-power-density AI sites, replacing a slower, more fragmented planning process.

Under the arrangement, the reference design is included in the Trane Continuum Rubin DSX and Eaton Beam Rubin DSX platforms. Eaton provides power distribution for the Trane platform, while both companies are aligning their systems with NVIDIA DSX platforms.

The aim is to give customers a coordinated design for electrical and cooling infrastructure from grid to chip. By linking these systems earlier in the planning process, operators can shorten development cycles and reduce complexity during deployment.

Integrated systems

The design also works with the NVIDIA Omniverse DSX Blueprint for AI data centres, offering a more consistent way to plan and deliver electrical, thermal and digital control infrastructure for AI-focused environments.

That matters as data centre demand continues to rise sharply, driven largely by AI computing. The companies cited forecasts suggesting global data centre capacity could almost triple by 2030, with AI accounting for around 70% of that growth.

The collaboration is centred on moving away from separate engineering tracks for power and cooling. Instead, the system is intended to let power distribution and cooling systems exchange operational indicators and respond more dynamically to changing demands inside the data centre.

Mauro J. Atalla, Senior Vice President, Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer at Trane Technologies, outlined the company's view of the market shift.

"AI and high-performance computing are transforming the demands placed on data centers, and customers want solutions that can keep pace with their needs," said Mauro J. Atalla, Senior Vice President, Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer at Trane Technologies. "By combining our advanced thermal management solutions with Eaton's innovative power management solutions, we're delivering a coordinated design that helps customers accelerate deployment, improve efficiency and confidently plan to scale for the future."

Eaton said the collaboration is intended to move reference designs beyond a set of specifications into repeatable systems that deployment teams can use more readily. It also highlighted the role of medium-voltage power systems and thermal management in meeting the requirements of larger AI facilities.

"We're advancing the industry standard for speed of deployment by progressing reference designs into unified systems teams can deploy repeatedly. Aligned with the NVIDIA DSX platform, we're integrating our medium-voltage power systems and white space thermal management solutions with Trane's advanced thermal management system architecture to help accelerate AI-factory deployment at scale," said Michael Regelski, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Electrical Sector, Eaton.

Nvidia alignment

NVIDIA also commented on the collaboration, framing it as part of a broader effort to standardise infrastructure planning for AI computing environments. The architecture is designed to adapt as liquid cooling technologies and direct current systems become more widely used.

"AI factories demand tightly coordinated power, cooling and compute infrastructure to operate efficiently at scale. By aligning with the NVIDIA Omniverse DSX Blueprint, Trane Technologies and Eaton are helping customers reduce complexity and accelerate deployment of next‐generation AI data centers," said Vladimir Troy, Vice President of AI Infrastructure at NVIDIA. "This new integrated approach supports the robust, scalable foundations enterprises need to unlock the full potential of generative and reasoning AI and turn data into faster, smarter outcomes."