Synopsys Joins Nus-Led Research on Cooling Ai-Ready Tropical Data Centers

The collaboration plans to connect engineering simulation and digital models with physical testing in Singapore.

Synopsys has joined the Sustainable Tropical Data Center Testbed Phase 2.0 Consortium, led by the National University of Singapore and hosted by its College of Design and Engineering.

Announced on October 28, 2026, the collaboration will combine Synopsys’ simulation and modeling capabilities with university research and physical testing facilities.

The planned work focuses on cooling and digital-twin technologies for increasingly dense, AI-ready data centers operating in tropical conditions.

Addressing heat and growing computing demand

AI and high-performance computing create substantial thermal demands as more powerful equipment is concentrated within data-center racks.

In tropical environments, high temperatures and humidity add to the cooling challenge.

NUS describes the testbed’s mission as developing sustainable cooling solutions that address energy consumption, carbon footprint and increasing rack density under these conditions.

The collaboration will examine approaches intended to help engineers understand those demands before moving designs toward deployment.

From simulation to physical validation

Planned research areas include advanced liquid cooling, computational fluid dynamics, multiphysics simulation, AI-assisted design and digital twins.

Initial concepts include two-phase direct-to-chip cooling for AI accelerators and predictive thermal models for liquid-cooled systems.

The proposed workflow begins with detailed simulations to explore designs and thermal behavior. Experiments at the testbed would then check those models against physical measurements.

Validated results could support reduced-order models—simplified computational models that require fewer resources than full simulations—for use in digital twins and operational decision support.

Building research and practitioner capability

Synopsys says its contribution will include software access, technical expertise, training, mentoring and learning resources within the agreed scope.

The partners also plan reusable workflows, case studies, validation methods and a demonstration connecting design, simulation, digital models and physical testing.

Professor Lee Poh Seng, Programme Director of the Sustainable Tropical Data Center Testbed and Head of Mechanical Engineering at NUS CDE, said the collaboration aims to move promising technologies from simulation toward real-world deployment.

The announcement outlines planned research rather than completed efficiency gains. It does not provide a deployment date or measured energy savings from the collaboration.

For tropical markets across the region, the project’s relevance lies in developing and testing infrastructure approaches suited to both local climate conditions and growing AI workloads.

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