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AUGUST 2026 I I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE 53 infrastructure that enables AI to run. A modern AI data center is a different animal from data centers built before cloud computing and AI. They must be massive in size to meet the demand that AI and high compute present. They consume a tremendous amount of power, prompting their comparison to large cities and small countries. Importantly, this results in a tremendous amount of heat that must be dissipated at the server rack level as opposed to the facility building level, making traditional air cooling inadequate for the task. By 2030, AI is expected to drive approximately 60% of new data center deployments, necessitating significantly more data center capacity than exists today. At this time, most large AI data center activity remains in the United States, driven by hyper- scalers such as AWS, Meta, Google, and Microsoft. Schneider is involved in most new projects under development worldwide through its partnerships with leading technology providers, hyperscalers, and co-location operators. The company collabo- rates directly with NVIDIA and others to stay ahead of chip and silicon evolution. A Closer Look at DCs, Cooling, and Supply Chain During a recent visit to Schneider Electric's liquid cooling operations in Buffalo, New York, I visited with Andrew Bradner, senior vice president of the cooling business, to discuss how AI has trans- formed data center design, why liquid cooling has suddenly become a necessity rather than an option, and what these changes mean for the broader elec- tronics ecosystem that supports the AI revolution. Marcy LaRont: Andrew, it is nice to meet you. Tell us about yourself and your career. How long have you been with Schneider? Andrew Bradner: I have been with Schneider for nearly 24 years, joining American Power Conver- sion (APC) in 2002. APC, based out of West Kings- ton, Rhode Island, was acquired by Schneider Electric in 2007. Prior to that, I owned a human resource management startup software company in California, a pre- cursor to today's software-as- a-service platforms. I am originally from Rhode Island and moved back several years later to be closer to family. I wanted to continue working in technology, and the closest thing I could find was APC, where technology was part of opera- tions. APC and Schneider have taken me on a journey all over the world, to Shanghai, Beijing, and Barcelona. I am now based in Italy, moving through different parts of the business. I've been in the data center business for over 20 years, five of which were leading our prefabricated data center business. When you talk about supply chain and the evolution of how data centers are built, I've seen that from the modular side. I have been leading the cooling business for more than seven years. Italy is Schneider's engineering and industrial hub, but given the big builds in the U.S., you've been spending time here. What does that mean in relation to the Motivair facility we toured here in Buffalo? Buffalo is our North American hub for liquid cooling, while Conselve, Italy, remains the location of our largest global cooling facility in terms of employees, manufacturing capacity, and engineering resourc- es. We also maintain engineering and manufactur- ing centers in Bangalore, India and Zhuhai, China. The Evolution of Data Center Cooling Now that you've been in the server business for more than 20 years, what is the most significant change you have witnessed? The most important change in the server journey is this pivot we began to see about four years ago. Historically, servers operated at power levels that could be effectively managed with fans and heat sinks. For years, CPUs and GPUs remained in the 200–300 watt range, making air cooling a practical and economical solution. SPECIAL SECTION ▼ Andrew Bradner