Strategic Thermal Labs

Strategic Thermal Labs (STL) is a thermal engineering research and development company that provides high-performance heat transfer solutions, specializing in liquid cooling for data centers. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in the Austin, Texas area.

STL's president is Austin Shelnutt. The team also includes experienced engineers like Tyler Duncan, James Bryan, and Tony Middleton, who collectively hold numerous patents in thermal design, IT equipment, and data centers from their time at companies like Dell, Raytheon, and NASA.

The company offers a portfolio of customizable liquid cooling products designed to manage the increasing power densities of modern computing, particularly with the rise of AI. Their product lineup includes direct-to-chip liquid cooling, cold plates, air-assisted liquid cooling systems, modular coolant distribution units (CDUs), and thermal test vehicles for validating performance. A key focus is developing "Bare Metal Liquid Cooling," a solution that aims to eliminate the need for CDUs, thereby increasing thermodynamic efficiency and reducing infrastructure costs.

Strategic Thermal Labs serves the world's largest server manufacturers and data center operators. In April 2024, Carrier Global Corporation's venture arm, Carrier Ventures, announced a significant investment and technology partnership with STL. This partnership aims to leverage STL's technology to develop and scale advanced liquid cooling solutions, with Carrier gaining a seat on STL's board. The collaboration positions STL to address a liquid cooling market projected to grow substantially by 2028.

Keywords: data center cooling, liquid cooling solutions, thermal management, heat transfer, direct-to-chip cooling, coolant distribution unit, cold plates, thermal engineering, high-density computing, server cooling, IT infrastructure, energy efficiency, thermal design, Bare Metal Liquid Cooling, air-assisted liquid cooling, thermal test vehicles