GB/T 48023—2026, Technical Specification for Cold-Plate Liquid Cooling Systems in Data Centers, has recently drawn industry attention. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation and Standardization Administration issued the standard on July 30, 2026, and it will take effect on February 1, 2027.

The standard applies to the design, manufacturing, deployment, operations and maintenance of cold-plate liquid cooling systems in data centers, but not to phase-change cold-plate liquid cooling systems. It sets out system configurations, technical requirements and testing methods, covering cold-plate assemblies, quick connectors, supply and return manifolds, coolant distribution units (CDUs), coolants, piping and cooling-source equipment.

Covering the Entire Cold-Plate Liquid Cooling Chain

Under the standard, a cold-plate liquid cooling system consists of primary-side and secondary-side cooling systems.

The secondary side mainly includes cold-plate assemblies, quick connectors, supply and return manifolds, secondary-side piping, CDUs and secondary-side coolant. The primary side mainly comprises primary-side piping, primary-side coolant and cooling-source equipment. The standard also defines how liquid-cooled servers, manifolds, CDUs and cooling-source equipment should be connected.

Organizations involved in drafting the standard span cloud computing, servers, data center infrastructure, liquid cooling and thermal management, pumps, valves and fluid systems, testing and certification, and academic research. According to the National Public Service Platform for Standards Information, companies and institutions including Sugon Data Infrastructure Innovation Technology, Alibaba Cloud, Huawei Digital Power, xFusion, Kehua Data and Envicool participated in the drafting process.

Requirements for Key Components and Operational Safety

The standard requires system piping and components to resist corrosion, while all materials that come into contact with coolant must be compatible with it. Secondary-side piping and any primary-side piping entering the equipment room must support leak detection, alarms and leak-location identification. Both the primary and secondary sides must also have filtration capabilities.

The standard sets separate requirements for flow resistance, pressure resistance, sealing, flow balancing, monitoring, alarms and controls across cold-plate assemblies, quick connectors, supply and return manifolds, and CDUs.

CDUs must monitor input power, dew-point temperature and liquid levels, as well as coolant temperature, pressure and flow on both the primary and secondary sides. They must also issue alarms for leaks, condensation, clogged filters, and abnormalities involving circulation pumps, sensors or communications.

Under rated operating conditions, a CDU’s actual heat-exchange capacity must be at least 95% of its rated capacity. During steady-state operation, the secondary-side coolant supply temperature must remain within ±1°C of its set point, while secondary-side flow must adjust automatically between 30% and 100% of the rated flow.

Temperature, Flow and Heat-Exchange Performance Metrics

For system performance, the standard specifies ranges for coolant supply temperatures and the temperature differential between supply and return coolant.

The secondary-side coolant supply temperature must range from 3°C above the dew point to 40°C, with a supply-return temperature differential of 5°C to 15°C. The primary-side coolant supply temperature must range from 15°C to 35°C, also with a supply-return differential of 5°C to 15°C.

For secondary-side piping, the difference between the highest and lowest branch flow rates must not exceed 10% of the average flow rate across all branches. System designs must also account for additional cooling loads caused by temperature increases in circulation pumps, piping and water tanks. When selecting equipment, an additional 10% should be added to the system’s total load.

Extending Beyond Equipment Testing to Coolants and Installation

The standard establishes a relatively comprehensive testing framework, including tests for cold-plate flow resistance and pressure resistance, quick-connector pressure resistance and sealing, manifold flow uniformity, and CDU pressure resistance, alarms, heat-exchange capacity, coolant supply temperature control, flow control and condensation prevention.

For secondary-side coolants, the standard also specifies metrics and testing methods covering freezing point, pH, total bacterial count, sulfate, chloride ions, hardness, electrical conductivity, turbidity and metal ions.

For installation, operations and maintenance, the standard requires secondary-side piping to be flushed with circulating deionized water after hydrostatic testing. Flushing should last at least 24 hours, and the flushed water must meet specified quality requirements.

When the standard takes effect on February 1, 2027, it will provide more consistent technical guidance for product design, engineering deployment, testing and acceptance, and ongoing operations and maintenance of cold-plate liquid cooling systems in data centers.