Sawit EcoTherm: Could palm oil solve data centres' water crisis without creating a bigger one?

The fluid boasts high dielectric strength, a high flash point, PFAS-free chemistry, and up to 95% bio-based content . MPOB senior research officer Dr Noor Khairin Mohd told Bernama that the technology offers a "water-free cooling solution" that could also reduce energy consumption by an estimated 30–50% .

How much water are Malaysian data centres consuming?

Estimates vary, but all point in the same direction: enormous and growing demand.

• MPOB has cited a figure of 876 million litres per day across Malaysia's data centre industry — equivalent to the daily domestic water needs of nearly 4 million people .
• Data centres in just three states — Selangor, Johor, and Negeri Sembilan — are projected to require 445 million litres per day (MLD) between 2025 and 2030 .
• Johor alone may see data centre demand hit 614 MLD by 2035 .
• As of early 2026, actual water consumption was much lower — about 28.68 MLD — but approved capacity was already at 55.83 MLD , underscoring the gap between planned and operational demand.

These figures have already triggered regulatory action. In late 2025, Johor state announced it would stop approving Tier 1 and Tier 2 data centres, which can consume up to 50 million litres of water per day each . A dedicated water tariff of RM5.33/m³ for data centres took effect in August 2025 .

What stage of development is Sawit EcoTherm in?

Sawit EcoTherm has been developed and tested in proof-of-concept or operational environments, but it is not yet commercially available . Dr Noor Khairin has stated that MPOB is "finalising" the fluid, and licensing arrangements with a domestic manufacturer are reportedly being pursued . No public timeline for full commercial production or operator adoption has been announced.

Environmental concerns about palm plantation expansion

While Sawit EcoTherm offers a technical fix for water scarcity, environmental experts have warned that scaling it up could shift the problem from water to land .

Deforestation and biodiversity loss — If coolant demand outstrips supply from existing plantations, new plantations could expand into tropical forests and peatlands. In Kalimantan, more than 5.4 million hectares of forest cover were lost in the last two decades, with oil palm expansion identified as a primary driver . A 2026 Mongabay investigation reported that a palm oil firm cleared over 3,000 hectares of forest inside a UNESCO biosphere reserve in Indonesian Borneo, threatening orangutan habitat .

Land-use pressure — Expanding plantations for coolant would compete with land already used for food, cosmetics, and biofuel production, putting additional strain on land and water resources . Indonesia's palm plantation area has already reached 16.8 million hectares .

Supply chain accountability — The net environmental benefit of Sawit EcoTherm depends on whether the palm oil feedstock can be certified as sustainably sourced and traceable. Without strong certification, the solution could merely shift the environmental burden from water consumption to deforestation and carbon emissions .

The bottom line

Sawit EcoTherm represents a promising technical innovation for a genuine water crisis. But its ecological credentials hinge on strict sustainable sourcing — a condition that experts say is far from guaranteed at scale. As Malaysia's data centre boom accelerates, the question is not just whether palm oil can cool servers, but whether the cure risks becoming a new disease.