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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5332 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5332
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a
technology assessment focused on liquid-cooling systems for artificial-
intelligence compute clusters and high-performance computing
facilities, require the development of Federal Government-wide best-
practice guidance for Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 11, 2025
Mr. Obernolte (for himself and Mr. Gottheimer) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and
in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a
technology assessment focused on liquid-cooling systems for artificial-
intelligence compute clusters and high-performance computing
facilities, require the development of Federal Government-wide best-
practice guidance for Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Liquid Cooling for AI Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report
published by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory indicates
that data centers accounted for 4.4 percent of total United
States electricity consumption in 2023, up from 1.9 percent in
2018. The report further projects that data centers could
represent between 6.7 percent and 12.8 percent of total
electricity consumption by 2028, due to the rapid growth of AI,
cloud computing, and other digital technologies.
(2) Traditional air-cooled systems are reaching limits to
effectively remove heat from AI chips and hardware, and liquid
cooling enhanced thermal performance is increasingly becoming a
necessity for high-density AI servers and data centers due to
the growing power consumption and heat generation of AI
workloads.
(3) Liquid-cooling technologies, including direct-to-chip
(DTC) liquid cooling and single-phase or two-phase immersion
cooling, can improve thermal performance, enable higher
densities, and reduce cooling system load when properly
engineered and maintained.
(4) Effective liquid-cooling deployments require
interoperable components and engineered subsystems, including
coolant distribution units, secondary loops, manifolds, hoses,
quick-disconnects, valves, pumps, filters, leak detection and
containment, corrosion control, and appropriate instrumentation
and controls.
(5) Interfaces for heat-reuse are integral to liquid
systems and can reduce thermal load on heat-rejection equipment
by transferring heat through plate heat exchangers or other
devices to beneficial secondary uses where technically
appropriate.
(6) Federal agencies, including the Department of Energy,
are considering the deployment of AI systems across government-
owned facilities.
(7) A comprehensive, independent assessment of emerging
data center architectures and cooling technologies is essential
to inform efficient and cost-effective deployment decisions
across the Federal Government.
SEC. 3. LIQUID COOLING DEPLOYMENT AND SCALABILITY.
(a) GAO Review.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall initiate a review of the research and development needs, and the
related market, technological, and regulatory conditions, affecting
liquid cooling utilization by data centers.
(b) Elements.--The review required under subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) An evaluation of liquid cooling research and
development needs, and the costs and benefits for high
performance computing.
(2) A description of avoided costs of energy, including
deferred and avoided new electric transmission and
infrastructure upgrades and associated costs.
(3) A description of increased compute capacity by enabling
more energy to be used for computing workloads rather than
cooling.
(4) A survey and analysis of existing research on the
positive and negative effects of liquid cooling on computing
performance, resiliency, and cybersecurity.
(5) An assessment of market trends and adoption rates of
liquid cooling in United States data centers over the past five
years.
(6) A comparison of direct-to-chip (DTC) liquid cooling and
immersion cooling approaches across representative density
bands, including relating to thermal performance,
maintainability, interoperability, safety, failure modes, and
lifecycle cost.
(7) An evaluation of coolant options, including water,
water-glycol, and engineered fluids, materials compatibility,
corrosion control, bio growth mitigation, filtration,
deaeration, and fluid monitoring and management.
(8) Recommendations relating to whether liquid cooling
should be considered as a primary cooling option over air
cooling due to the thermal conditions of computing components
in servers within data centers.
(9) Development of reference architectures and layouts for
rack, row, and room-level liquid distribution by density band
and cooling approach.
(10) A survey of existing opportunities for reusing waste
heat produced by data centers.
(11) An evaluation of failure scenarios (such as pump
failures or fluid leaks) and mitigation strategies, especially
in shared co-location environments.
(c) Requirements.--
(1) Recommendations.--In preparing the review required
under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the United
States shall include recommendations, including considerations
relating to the following:
(A) The Federal Government's utilization of and
ongoing research on liquid cooling technologies.
(B) Best practices and industry standards for the
design and operation of liquid cooling technologies.
(C) Methods to enhance the security, reliability,
and resilience of computing equipment and data centers.
(D) Methods to accelerate education on operational
best practices.
(2) Stakeholder input.--With the goal of identifying the
best practices and industry standards referred to in paragraph
(1)(A), the Comptroller General of the United States shall
consult with stakeholders from Federal, State, and local
governments, the private sector, academia, and National
Laboratories.
(3) Liquid cooling advisory organization.--
(A) In general.--In furtherance of the review
required under subsection (a), including the
identification of best practices and industry standards
referred to in paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary of
Energy and the Comptroller General of the United States
shall jointly designate a liquid cooling industry
organization with which to consult and coordinate in
the preparation of such review.
(B) Requirements.--The organization designated
pursuant to subparagraph (A), whether preexisting or
formed specifically for the purposes described in such
subparagraph, shall satisfy the following criteria:
(i) Consist of interested parties who have
expertise in liquid cooling system applications
in the development, operation, and
functionality of AI factories or data centers,
information technology equipment, or software,
as well as representatives of hardware
manufacturers, data center operators, or AI
factory development.
(ii) Consult with relevant stakeholders,
including the Department of Energy, the
National Laboratories, and any college,
university, research institution, industry
association, company, or public interest group
with applicable expertise in any of the subject
matters areas specified in clause (i).
(iii) Have as its mission the development
and promotion of liquid cooling for data
centers and information technology.
(d) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to
the Secretary of Energy and the appropriate congressional committees a
written report containing the results, findings, and any associated
recommendations of the review required under subsection (a).
(e) Department of Energy Review.--Not later than 180 days after
receiving the report from the Comptroller General of the United States
under subsection (d), the Secretary of Energy shall--
(1) evaluate such report and any associated
recommendations; and
(2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees an
assessment of such report and any associated recommendations,
including--
(A) relevant considerations for Congress regarding
the importance of liquid cooling for the United States
to maintain its global lead in AI technologies; and
(B) recommendations for research and development on
liquid cooling and heat-reuse.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) AI.--The term ``AI'' has the meaning given the term
``artificial intelligence'' in section 5002 of the National
Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C.
9401).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House
of Representatives.
(3) Direct-to-chip (dtc) liquid cooling.--The term
``direct-to-chip (DTC) liquid cooling'' means a liquid cooling
method that involves circulating a coolant in direct contact
with applicable heat-generating components, such as processors
and memory modules, to efficiently absorb and transfer heat
away.
(4) Heat-reuse.--The term ``heat-reuse'' means the capture
and transfer of waste heat from liquid loops for beneficial
secondary use through appropriate interfaces and controls.
(5) Immersion cooling.--The term ``immersion cooling''
means a cooling technique that involves submerging electronic
components in a dielectric fluid to absorb and dissipate heat
within a preset temperature range.
(6) Liquid cooling.--The term ``liquid cooling'' means
utilization of liquids to remove heat efficiently from
electronic components.
(7) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory''
has the meaning given such term in section 2 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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