Fabric8Labs and University of Illinois develop 3D-printed copper cold plates cutting data center cooling energy by 98%

Fabric8Labs, a San Diego-based additive manufacturing company specializing in electrochemical additive manufacturing (ECAM), has partnered with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to produce direct-to-chip (D2C) pure copper cold plates for data center cooling. Published in Cell Reports Physical Science on May 8, 2026, the research demonstrates that topology-optimized copper cold plates fabricated via ECAM can reduce cooling energy consumption from 550 megawatts to just 11 megawatts per gigawatt of computing capacity — a 98% reduction. The team, led by Professor Nenad Miljkovic and graduate student Behnoosh Bazmi, used mathematical algorithms to design complex fin geometries with 30-50 micron resolution, which are impossible to produce with conventional machining or powder-bed fusion due to copper's high reflectivity and thermal conductivity challenges. The work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

This development directly addresses the escalating energy crisis in data centers, which are projected to consume 12% of U.S. grid capacity by 2028 according to the paper. The cold plates achieve 32% better cooling performance and 68% lower pressure drop compared to conventional rectangular-fin designs, while using pure copper — a material that is notoriously difficult to 3D print due to its high thermal conductivity and laser reflectivity. Fabric8Labs' ECAM process bypasses these limitations by electrochemically depositing copper layer-by-layer at room temperature, enabling the intricate, sharp-tipped fin geometries that topology optimization demands. This positions the company against established liquid cooling hardware manufacturers like CoolIT Systems and Boyd Corporation, but with a unique AM-enabled design freedom that could reshape the thermal management supply chain. The broader significance lies in the convergence of computational design (topology optimization) and advanced manufacturing (ECAM) to solve a systemic infrastructure problem, rather than just a component-level improvement.

For Fabric8Labs, the practical next step is moving from academic validation to commercial qualification with data center operators and original equipment manufacturers. The company must demonstrate that ECAM-produced cold plates can meet reliability and cost targets at production scale, particularly given that current direct liquid cooling systems prioritize manufacturing cost over performance. The research provides a strong technical foundation, but the path to deployment requires building a certified supply chain for pure copper components in a market where aluminum and stainless steel remain the default materials. This is a credible engineering advance, not a market inflection point — the real test will be whether Fabric8Labs can convert energy savings into a compelling total cost of ownership argument for hyperscale data center operators.