H.R. 5332

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5332 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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).
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