Huafu Securities released a research report stating that the high power consumption of AI chips is driving rapid growth in demand for liquid cooling, with microchannel cold plates continuously iterating towards finer precision. Traditional CNC and welding processes are struggling to meet mass production requirements. The firm believes that 3D printing, particularly the pure copper and green laser route, is poised to become the core solution for overcoming process and production bottlenecks. Concurrently, the high power consumption of AI chips is expected to accelerate the industrial application of high thermal conductivity materials like diamond-copper composites. The report is optimistic about manufacturers of pure copper microchannel liquid cooling plates that possess green laser 3D printing technical capabilities. It also emphasizes the importance of upstream material and equipment suppliers, as well as companies involved in diamond materials and their applications.

Huafu Securities' key views are as follows: Against the backdrop of the AI computing power revolution, the shift from air cooling to liquid cooling is an inevitable choice driven by increasing heat dissipation demands. Liquid cooling technology is transitioning from an optional feature to a standard, scalable solution, with its penetration rate continuously rising. Examples include Nvidia's Rubin NVL72 and Google's TPU v7, which both adopt a 100% full liquid cooling architecture, making liquid cooling a standard for high-density AI clusters and moving towards large-scale adoption. According to TrendForce data, the penetration rate of liquid cooling in AI data centers was 14% in 2024 and is projected to increase to 40% by 2026. Cold plate liquid cooling remains the mainstream solution for large-scale data center deployments currently, holding a market share of approximately 80%-90%. Considering the feasibility of large-scale deployment, the firm believes that cold plate liquid cooling, with its advantages in flexible deployment and ease of maintenance, is expected to remain the mainstream solution for scalable data center implementation in the foreseeable future.

Green laser 3D printing is seen as breaking the mass production bottleneck for microchannels, while diamond-copper composites are considered the ideal material for the next generation. (1) Microchannel Cold Plates: The performance of the cold plate directly determines cooling efficiency, making it one of the core components with the highest technological content and concentrated value in a liquid cooling system. Copper is the preferred material for heat dissipation components like cold plates. Structural optimization is key to improving the cooling performance of cold plates. As AI chip power increases, the demand for high-performance microchannel cold plates becomes more urgent. Currently, microchannel liquid cooling plates are advancing industrial application along technical directions such as "channel miniaturization, embedded structures, and integrated packaging." (2) Green Laser 3D Printing: The optimal solution for breaking the production bottleneck of high-precision microchannel cold plates. Traditional processes like CNC and welding have limitations and cannot meet the requirements for the large-scale, stable production of pure copper microchannel cold plates, representing a core obstacle to high-density heat dissipation upgrades. On one hand, copper has an absorption rate of about 40% for green lasers, compared to less than 5% for infrared lasers. On the other hand, 3D printing processes can accommodate more precise and complex microchannel designs and production. The emergence of green laser 3D printing has become a key process for overcoming the production bottleneck of high-precision microchannel cold plates, laying the foundation for the large-scale application of pure copper microchannel liquid cooling plates. (3) Diamond-Copper Composites: Upgrading heat dissipation materials is becoming increasingly urgent, accelerating the pace of industrial application. Diamond-copper composite materials combine the excellent properties of both diamond and copper, making them ideal for manufacturing high-power-density liquid cooling plates. Using 3D printing technology to produce diamond-copper microchannel liquid cooling plates can achieve a thermal conductivity exceeding 1000 W/m·K and reduce interfacial thermal resistance to 0.1 K/W, suitable for ultra-high heat flux density scenarios above 1500 W/cm². In April 2026, diamond-copper composite materials achieved their first large-scale application nationwide, marking an acceleration in their industrialization process. (4) Market Potential: The AI computing power revolution is unlocking growth potential for the liquid cooling and diamond industries. According to PwC Strategy& forecasts, the global server liquid cooling market is expected to grow to $53.5 billion by 2030, with the cold plate market segment potentially reaching $23 billion, equivalent to over a hundred billion RMB. The firm estimates that the market size for diamond heat dissipation in the AI chip sector could reach 48-90 billion RMB by 2030.

Risk factors include intensified industry competition, slower-than-expected technological iteration, and delays in industrial application.