2026-05-13 15:21 United Daily News
[Reporter Chin Yu-Hsiang / Taipei]
According to the Patent Trend Analysis of Key Components for Data Centers report released this year by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office, a total of 8,449 patent families related to data center and server cooling technologies published worldwide between 2015 and 2024 were analyzed. Taiwanese companies Inventec (2356), Foxconn (2317), and Quanta Computer (2382) were identified as major patent applicants, highlighting Taiwan’s critical role in the global server supply chain.
As demand for generative AI computing power continues to surge, data centers are facing growing pressure in terms of energy consumption and thermal management, making cooling technology a major industry challenge. The report shows that cooling-related patents achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% over the past decade. The sector entered a growth phase in 2022, with annual patent filings surpassing 1,000 cases and continuing to rise, reflecting the rapid increase in AI-driven demand.
Among the world’s top 20 applicants for data center cooling and thermal management patents, eight are U.S.-based patent holders, including tech giants such as NVIDIA, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon. Six applicants are from mainland China, with Inspur and Baidu standing out on the list. Taiwan accounts for three companies on the list: Inventec, Foxconn, and Quanta.
Among them, Inventec has shown particularly strong patent deployment in liquid cooling technologies, with 111 global patent applications, including 87 related to liquid cooling. The company also holds 19 patents in the more technically demanding field of immersion liquid cooling, leading other Taiwanese manufacturers. Quanta’s cooling technology patents are mainly concentrated in air-cooling technologies, with 50 global patents in this area, exceeding its liquid-cooling portfolio and reflecting its continued emphasis on the traditional server market. Foxconn has also accumulated expertise in immersion liquid cooling technologies and maintains extensive patent portfolios in air conditioning and hot/cold aisle containment technologies. Taiwanese companies’ strong patent portfolios in data center cooling technologies not only demonstrate technological innovation, but also establish competitive advantages for the future AI data center and server cooling markets.