Diamond Cooling is the Answer to the Hot Business of Energy

AI data centres are increasingly bottlenecked by heat, power delivery, and operating cost—not compute. “Diamond-in-rack” thermal management is a real, deployable approach that tackles heat at the source, so the rest of the rack’s cooling stack operates under less stress. The upside shows up as lower hotspot temperatures, higher sustained performance, better PUE/WUE, and higher rack density—without requiring a full redesign of server architecture.

Why Heat Is Now the Bottleneck in AI Compute

As GPU densities climb, hotspot temperatures rise into ranges where performance, leakage, and reliability begin to degrade. Conventional approaches (air, liquid, immersion) do a good job removing heat—but mostly after it has already concentrated at the chip and package. That means operators often pay the penalty first (throttling risk, instability, higher auxiliary power) and only then manage the consequences at the rack or facility level.

This is where diamond enters the stack: not as a replacement for existing cooling, but as a way to push the bottleneck upstream—closer to where the heat is generated—so the rest of the system can operate more efficiently.

Traditional cooling systems treat symptoms downstream. Diamond addresses the cause upstream.

What “Diamond-in-Rack” Actually Means

“Diamond-in-rack” means integrating diamond thermal material into the rack’s heat path close to the hotspot—so heat spreads laterally before it loads downstream cooling components.

In practice, diamond can be integrated as:

• Heat spreaders / hotspot spreaders near the die or package

• Bonded diamond layers (diamond-enabled bonding) that improve lateral heat spreading

• Diamond coatings or composites designed to reduce peak temperature and thermal gradients

Across formats, the principle is the same: move heat away from hotspots fast, so cold plates, pumps, and facility loops see a flatter, lower-peak thermal profile.

What Diamond Changes at the Rack Level

When diamond is integrated close to the hotspot, reported outcomes include:

• GPU hotspot reductions on the order of 10–20°C

• Lower junction temperatures, including in liquid-cooled systems

• Reductions in auxiliary cooling energy

• Improved sustained performance, uptime, and hardware lifetime

Those are not just materials wins—they translate into rack economics:

• Higher safe operating envelopes per rack

• More stable performance at sustained utilization

• Lower fan and pumping overhead, improving overall facility efficiency

Why Diamond Amplifies Liquid Cooling Rather Than Replacing It

Diamond does not replace liquid cooling—it makes it work better.

Liquid cooling is most effective when the heat reaching the cold plate is lower and more evenly distributed. By spreading heat laterally at the source, diamond reduces thermal gradients before heat enters secondary loops. The knock-on effects are straightforward:

• Lower fan speeds

• Reduced pumping power

• Greater thermal headroom for overclocking and sustained utilization

In practical terms, diamond gives operators a choice: cut energy costs, increase rack density, or do both—without redesigning the full architecture from scratch.

Diamond Cooling Is Already Deployed at Scale

This is no longer hypothetical. Diamond-cooled AI servers have been deployed in production data centres, with reported outcomes including:

• Approximately 30% reductions in chip temperature

• Around 20% reductions in cooling energy at the facility level

• Up to double performance per watt when combined with liquid cooling

• Material reductions in AI compute costs passed through to customers

The adoption detail that matters: these deployments integrate with existing server architectures rather than requiring wholesale redesigns. That compatibility is what makes diamond viable as infrastructure, not novelty.

Why This Matters to the AI Hardware Ecosystem

As server OEMs design higher-density AI systems, as GPU roadmaps push performance envelopes, and as integrators compete on efficiency—not just raw compute—thermal performance becomes a strategic lever.

Diamond sits at the intersection of:

• Advanced semiconductor packaging

• High-performance GPU architectures

• Data centre energy economics

• Sustainability and ESG requirements

Better thermal management enables higher sustained performance, longer hardware lifetimes, and lower total cost of ownership. Those advantages compound at scale.

Thea’s Perspective

At Thea, we view diamond as an enabling material for the next generation of compute infrastructure.

The value is not abstract. It is measurable in degrees Celsius, kilowatt-hours, uptime, and dollars. When energy costs are rising and AI demand is accelerating, materials that move heat more efficiently become mission-critical.

Diamond cooling is transitioning from edge deployment to core infrastructure. The question is no longer if it works, but how quickly it will be adopted.

If you want to lead the charge, get in touch with us today: info@theamaterials.com, and we'll walk you through a demo to access the best-in-class science and supply for your applications.

Questions you need to know

What is diamond cooling in AI data centres?

Diamond cooling uses synthetic diamond as a heat spreader or bonded layer at the silicon level to move heat away from GPU hotspots more efficiently than traditional materials.

Why is diamond better than copper for cooling GPUs?

Diamond has significantly higher thermal conductivity than copper, allowing heat to spread laterally faster and reducing peak temperatures at the transistor level.

Does diamond replace liquid cooling?

No. Diamond improves heat transfer before liquid cooling begins, making liquid cooling systems more efficient and reducing overall energy consumption.

Is diamond cooling used in production data centres today?

Yes. Diamond-cooled AI servers have been deployed in operational data centres, delivering lower temperatures, improved performance per watt, and reduced cooling costs.

How does diamond cooling reduce AI compute costs?

By lowering cooling energy demand, improving performance density, and extending hardware lifespan, diamond reduces total cost of ownership and cost per unit of compute.