Vertiv to buy ThermoKey to boost data centre cooling

Vertiv has agreed to acquire Italian heat-exchange specialist ThermoKey, broadening its thermal management offering in Europe and other territories.

ThermoKey makes heat rejection and heat-exchange equipment for data centre cooling and industrial applications. Its products include dry coolers, heat exchangers, air-cooled condensers and liquid cooling systems. The business has operated since 1991.

The acquisition is expected to add manufacturing capacity and engineering expertise to Vertiv's thermal portfolio. ThermoKey's product line will sit alongside Vertiv's existing cooling and heat rejection systems for high-density data centres.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2026.

Cooling Demand

The move comes as suppliers to data centre operators expand cooling options for facilities running more power-hungry workloads, including artificial intelligence systems. Managing heat has become a central challenge as operators try to increase computing density without sharply raising energy use or straining infrastructure.

According to Vertiv, ThermoKey has established relationships with original equipment manufacturers and system integrators. Those ties are expected to strengthen Vertiv's position with customers that buy cooling systems as part of larger infrastructure projects.

Much of the strategic rationale centres on heat rejection, the part of the cooling chain that removes heat from data centre systems to the outside environment. ThermoKey's dry coolers and microchannel-based heat-exchange technologies are expected to give customers more options across air cooling, liquid cooling and hybrid approaches.

The acquisition also targets the EMEA market, where ThermoKey has its manufacturing base and an established customer network. For Vertiv, this adds local production and helps it respond to demand for thermal equipment in a region seeing continued data centre construction.

Portfolio Expansion

ThermoKey's in-house design and production operations are expected to increase Vertiv's manufacturing flexibility. Available production capacity was also a factor, as demand for cooling infrastructure rises with the size and technical complexity of data centre projects.

The US-headquartered infrastructure supplier sells power, cooling and IT systems for data centres, communications networks and industrial users. In recent years, cooling has become a larger focus across the sector as rack power densities rise and liquid cooling gains wider adoption for some workloads.

ThermoKey's products are compatible with low-global-warming-potential and natural refrigerants, an area of growing importance as operators and equipment makers respond to environmental rules and efficiency targets. That compatibility may also help customers adapt system designs to local regulatory requirements and site constraints.

Giordano Albertazzi, chief executive officer of Vertiv, said the company had worked with ThermoKey before agreeing the acquisition.

"Heat rejection is becoming increasingly critical for data centres and AI factories as the industry seeks new ways to unlock capacity, improve energy efficiency, and scale with confidence," Albertazzi said.

He said Vertiv also saw value in ThermoKey's technology and market relationships.

"Through our work with ThermoKey, we have come to value its differentiated heat-exchange technologies, engineering depth, and relationships across OEMs and system integrators. This acquisition is expected to expand the options available to our customers as they adopt more efficient cooling strategies and build infrastructure designed to stay ahead of rapidly evolving compute demands," Albertazzi said.

The deal reflects broader consolidation and portfolio expansion among suppliers to data centre operators, as customers increasingly seek integrated systems rather than standalone components. In that market, thermal infrastructure has become a key point of competition as operators weigh efficiency, deployment speed, refrigerant choices and site-specific design constraints.

Founded in Italy more than three decades ago, ThermoKey brings manufacturing operations and specialist engineering in heat exchangers for data centre cooling and other demanding applications.