Telcos Turn to LG and Flex to Cool AI Data Centre Growth

AI brings more data and greater heat and LG Electronics and Flex respond by joining forces to deliver thermal management systems that meet the increasing demands of high-density data centres. 

The partnership is formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding, signed to develop modular cooling infrastructure that supports the growing global network of AI-enabled data centres. 

For telecommunications providers and service operators, the ability to scale energy-efficient cooling technology is becoming a core priority as AI transforms connectivity and compute.

Cooling pressure builds across high-density telco data centres

AI workloads demand greater processing power and energy, which creates new pressure on the physical infrastructure that underpins networks and services.

Heat is a critical by-product of the growth and advanced cooling technology is essential to ensure continuity, performance and sustainability.

Through this agreement, LG and Flex align to produce integrated cooling systems designed to manage the thermal complexity of telco-grade data centres. 

LG contributes a suite of air and liquid cooling modules including computer room air conditioning (CRAC) and air handling (CRAH) systems, chillers and coolant distribution units (CDUs). The solutions are paired with Flex’s IT infrastructure portfolio, including proprietary liquid cooling systems and power products. Together, the offering enables operators to adapt cooling to local conditions and scale technology as AI demands expand.

Michael Hartung, President and Chief Commercial Officer of Flex, says: “Through our collaboration with LG, Flex now offers customers a complete range of cooling solutions to tackle escalating heat challenges in the data centre.

“Together, we’ll deliver prefabricated, scalable data centre infrastructure solutions that incorporate advanced liquid and air cooling technologies to increase efficiency, simplify deployment and speed time to revenue for our customers.”

This approach offers telcos and hyperscalers the flexibility to manage heat loads more efficiently, reduce reliance on traditional air-cooling systems and lower total energy use. Liquid cooling in particular is being explored by operators keen to increase power density while controlling the rise in power consumption, a growing cost and sustainability issue for telcos operating at scale.

Power and cooling infrastructure scales with AI

Telecommunications companies building AI-native infrastructure are prioritising modular design, low latency and regional capacity. LG confirms it is targeting global data centre expansion, including one of the largest AI data centres in Jakarta, Indonesia. It has further  announced a collaboration with DATAVOLT in the Middle East and Africa to develop data centres focused on scale, performance and sustainable operation.

Rjit Nanda, Chief Executive of DATAVOLT, says: “We are building a new generation of net-zero, AI-ready data centres designed for performance, scale and sustainability.

“Partnering with LG allows us to integrate world-class cooling technologies that are critical to enabling the digital transformation of governments and enterprises across the Kingdom of Saudi and beyond.”

For telcos operating in emerging markets or undergoing national digital transformations, these next-generation data centres are expected to support new digital services, expand edge infrastructure and enable intelligent network services such as autonomous systems, video analytics and natural language processing.

These workloads are becoming increasingly common at the network edge, where data centre cooling and power provisioning must be modular and energy-efficient.

Flex AI Infrastructure Platform positions for telco integration

Flex and LG’s co-developed systems will be embedded in the Flex AI Infrastructure Platform, a modular architecture that combines power, cooling, compute and service capabilities into a single system. 

The platform responds to the surge in AI models and training datasets that are reshaping the performance demands of telco data centres. It also addresses lifecycle needs such as energy management, scalability and thermal load balancing.

Michael references Flex’s history in supporting data centre scale-ups during high-demand growth phases, saying: “Flex is at the forefront of supporting data centre operators to overcome escalating power, heat and scale constraints of the AI era.”

As AI reshapes telco operations, from customer service to network optimisation, backend infrastructure needs to keep pace.

LG’s President of the Energy Solutions Company, James Lee, adds: “One LG Solution is ready to reshape the global data centre landscape with future-ready solutions from LG Electronics, LG CNS and LG Energy Solution.

“With our leading thermal management systems, intelligent operation capabilities and resilient power solutions, we can supply data centre operators with everything they need to scale efficiently in the AI era.”

James concludes: “We are advancing our competitiveness in the AI data centre market by strategically partnering with leading global companies.

“Our collaboration with Flex adds new momentum to our global expansion and enhances our ability to deliver unique value to clients worldwide.”

Telcos face rising pressure to meet AI infrastructure requirements while managing energy costs, environmental expectations and rapid deployment schedules. 

Partnerships like LG and Flex create building blocks for telcos to build and operate more efficient digital infrastructure with cooling and power at its core.