DataCenterChill synthesis · Based on the primary source listed below
Keppel and Shell Singapore have begun a twelve-month trial of immersion cooling inside one of Keppel's operating data centers. Servers sit in a tank of fluid rather than in moving air, and the fluid is Shell's own, made from natural gas rather than crude oil. The trial started in May 2026, and the stated purpose is to decide whether Keppel's future sites should be built for immersion at all.
What makes this worth following is that it is not a laboratory. Keppel's existing halls were designed for air cooling and for liquid cooling that does not involve submerging anything, so the trial has to work around a building that was not built for it. That is the same position most operators are in, which makes the result more transferable than a purpose-built demonstration would be.
Shell's published comparison against air cooling claims up to 48 percent better energy efficiency, up to 40 percent more computing performance, and up to 40 percent lower capital and operating cost. Those are the supplier's own benchmark figures, each carrying an "up to", and they describe a comparison rather than a measurement of this site. The trial exists precisely because nobody yet knows which of them survive contact with a working facility.
Singapore is a deliberate place to try. The climate is hot and humid all year, which is the hardest environment for any cooling design that hopes to avoid mechanical refrigeration, and the country has restricted new data center capacity on efficiency grounds. A technique that works there has an argument anywhere.