Sapphire Technologies has launched a new line of oil-free centrifugal compressors and started taking customer orders to address supply chain bottlenecks for AI data centre chillers.
The US-based company plans to deliver the first completed units to air-cooled chiller manufacturers by February 2027.
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
According to Sapphire, rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has driven cooling requirements beyond the manufacturing capacity of conventional chiller vendors.
While air-cooled units avoid cooling towers that consume millions of gallons of water each year, they must expel heat into local air reaching up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
This elevated pressure ratio environment, known as high lift, typically reduces the operating capacity and efficiency of standard compressors.
Sapphire Technologies CEO Freddie Sarhan said: “Chiller manufacturers are responding to hyperscaler demand by launching new air-cooled chiller models. But the compressors the industry relies on were built for a different era and a different duty.
“We built ours specifically for high lift applications and with our proprietary oil-free platform that has been in production for over 25 years. We are launching our new compressor now to alleviate the chiller supply chain.”
Engineered at Sapphire’s site in Cypress, California, the modular High Lift Compressor units can deliver up to 8,000t of refrigeration per unit.
The two-stage centrifugal assemblies use high-speed permanent-magnet motors and in-house active magnetic bearings.
Their power electronics can operate on alternating current or direct current power, including an 800 VDC configuration designed to connect directly to the high-voltage electrical distribution systems used in data centres.
Sapphire developed the compressor line earlier this year, adapting magnetic bearings and rotor components previously used in its natural gas turboexpanders and mission-critical hardware.
Sapphire and its parent entity, Calnetix, already built compressors under industrial contracts and military programmes, including systems for the US Navy.
The company also supplies chiller makers with dedicated electronics, controls, magnetic bearings, and custom engineering support.
