ZutaCore has won the DeserTech Climate Startup Pitch Competition at NYC Climate Week 2026, securing a $10,000 prize from the Climate Solutions Prize in recognition of its innovative approach to sustainable AI data center cooling.
Manfreid Chua, VP of AI & Sustainability / Business Development at ZutaCore, secured first place among eight selected Israeli climate tech startups, demonstrating how waterless two-phase cooling enables more compute with less cooling energy and zero cooling water consumption.
"AI growth cannot come at the expense of our energy and water resources. This award recognises the opportunity to rethink how we cool AI infrastructure, delivering more compute with less energy, zero cooling water and a smaller environmental footprint. We're proud to see waterless two-phase cooling recognised as part of the solution."
— Manfreid Chua, VP of AI & Sustainability / Business Development, ZutaCore
Addressing AI's Growing Energy and Water Demands
Manfreid's winning pitch, "Summer is Coming: Solving the Energy & Water Reckoning in AI Data Centers," highlighted the urgent need for more sustainable cooling technologies.
Global data center electricity consumption is projected to more than double by 2030, reaching approximately 945 TWh annually, according to the International Energy Agency.
With AI processors generating more heat than ever, traditional cooling technologies are reaching their limits.
ZutaCore's HyperCool® waterless two-phase direct-to-chip cooling technology uses phase change to remove heat efficiently, enabling higher compute density while reducing cooling energy consumption and eliminating water from the server cooling loop.
Enabling More AI Compute with Less Energy
The pitch also showcased ZutaCore's modular two-phase cooling architecture, designed to simplify data center cooling and maximize energy efficiency.
With a target power usage effectiveness (PUE) of approximately 1.03 and water usage effectiveness (WUE) of zero, this solution offers the potential to transform AI data center sustainability.
ZutaCore's modelled 100 MW deployment scenarios demonstrate the potential to:
These benefits highlight how advanced cooling can help data centers scale AI workloads while reducing environmental impact.
Recognizing Innovation in Sustainable AI Infrastructure
The DeserTech competition brought together eight selected Israeli climate technology startups to pitch their solutions before a panel of three judges.
ZutaCore's first-place finish recognize the commercial and environmental potential of waterless two-phase liquid cooling.
The award reinforces ZutaCore's commitment to advancing sustainable AI infrastructure and helping data centers overcome the energy and water constraints of next-generation compute.
More compute. Less energy. Zero cooling water.
Discover ZutaCore's waterless two-phase cooling solutions