Data centers use 'forever chemicals' instead of water for AI cooling

Regulatory_trend: Recent coverage highlights growing scrutiny from environmental groups and regulators over new PFAS-based cooling fluids for data centers, with calls to limit or reject approvals as broader rules aim to control and eventually phase out many forever chemicals. Cooling_technology: Data centers running AI workloads are increasingly adopting two-phase immersion cooling systems, where servers are submerged in low-boiling-point fluorinated liquids that vaporize and condense to remove heat instead of using traditional water-based cooling. Environmental_risk: The fluorinated liquids used in many of these systems belong to the PFAS family of so‑called forever chemicals, which are highly persistent in the environment and have been linked in research and advocacy reports to long-term contamination and human health concerns.