SLB 宣布 41 亿美元收购 Kelvion 扩展 AI 数据中心热管理布局

Senior News Writer,Data Center Knowledge

August 31, 2026

5 Min Read

SLB will spend $4.1 billion to acquire thermal management company Kelvion, expanding its data center business into cooling and heat rejection as AI workloads drive higher power densities.

The deal adds heat exchangers, heat rejection equipment and other thermal management technologies to SLB’s engineering, modular manufacturing, offsite construction, power integration and digital capabilities.

SLB said Kelvion will more than double its revenue opportunity per gigawatt of delivered data center capacity. The combined data center business is expected to generate more than $2 billion in revenue in 2026, with SLB targeting $4.5 billion to $5 billion in revenue by 2028.

“It’s less about what SLB sells today and more about what it becomes,” said Alex Cordovil, research director at Dell’Oro Group.

Until now, SLB has been a relatively small data center player focused on prefabricated modular capacity and integrating third party equipment into delivered facilities, Cordovil said.

“Kelvion turns SLB into an OEM in one of the fastest growing corners of the thermal chain,” he said.

SLB’s Data Center Solutions business has grown at a compound annual rate of more than 90% from 2024 through 2026. The company expects cumulative delivered capacity to exceed 2 GW by the end of this year.

Kelvion expects 2026 revenue of $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $350 million to $400 million. Its data center business is expected to generate $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion.

Heat Rejection

AI cooling discussions have focused heavily on direct to chip technologies such as cold plates and coolant distribution units. But heat captured at the chip still has to move through the cooling loop and ultimately leave the facility.

Kelvion gives SLB a larger position in that part of the system.

“Most of the attention has gone to cold plates and CDUs, but the segment repricing fastest right now is heat rejection,” Cordovil said.

He pointed to rising rack densities and pressure over data center water consumption as drivers for dry coolers and hybrid or adiabatic systems, areas where Kelvion has established technology.

SLB said modern GPUs are already pushing rack power densities above 100 kW, while some announced chip architectures could approach 1 MW.

Higher densities increase the amount of heat cooling systems must move and reject at the facility level. Kelvion also has technologies for waterless cooling applications, giving SLB additional options in markets where water availability or community opposition limits conventional cooling approaches.

Integrated Cooling

SLB plans to integrate Kelvion’s thermal technologies into its modular infrastructure rather than treating cooling as a separate system added later.

Management said that would bring thermal management into the design process alongside SLB’s engineering and manufacturing capabilities.

“This creates a more integrated infrastructure architecture with better alignment across performance requirements, configuration choices and deployment timing for customers,” said Gavin Rennick, president of SLB’s New Energy and Industrial business.

SLB pointed to its work as a modular design partner for Nvidia AI factories as an example. Management said Kelvion’s thermal expertise could help optimize cooling as those systems are designed and fabricated.

Cordovil said integration will determine whether the acquisition produces a lasting competitive advantage.

“Durable differentiation sits in system design and controls rather than in individual components,” he said. “So the test is whether SLB can integrate, not whether it can manufacture.”

Kelvion also supplies components to other companies in the thermal management market, potentially leaving SLB competing with companies that buy Kelvion equipment.

“SLB now sits as both competitor and supplier to parts of the ecosystem,” Cordovil said.

Beyond Cooling

SLB also sees the acquisition as a potential entry point into other parts of the data center infrastructure stack.

CEO Olivier Le Peuch said the company could combine its modular and cooling capabilities with partnerships for behind the meter generation and other power solutions.

SLB also identified potential opportunities involving geothermal and carbon capture.

“The more interesting question is whether cooling is the entry point rather than the destination,” Cordovil said. “SLB’s core competence is energy, and a growing number of data centers are having to generate their own power.”

The company said it sees an opportunity to offer hyperscalers integrated power, cooling and modular infrastructure as operators seek to secure the infrastructure needed for large AI deployments.

Market Expansion

SLB estimates the data center infrastructure market it can address will exceed $150 billion by 2030, excluding IT and silicon.

Dell’Oro uses a narrower definition and expects the data center physical infrastructure market to surpass $80 billion by 2030, Cordovil said.

Kelvion also expands SLB’s geographic reach. SLB has built its data center business primarily in the US, while Kelvion has established operations and customers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Le Peuch said the US will remain the foundation of the business, followed by Europe and then Asia and the Middle East.

Kelvion’s non data center business also gives SLB exposure to thermal management applications in energy and industrial markets, including heat pumps, renewables, carbon capture and processing.

The Deal

SLB will pay about $3.4 billion in cash and assume about $700 million of Kelvion debt. The transaction values Kelvion at about 11 times estimated 2026 adjusted EBITDA before synergies and about 8.5 times after expected synergies.

SLB expects about $120 million in annual EBITDA synergies within three years of closing. About $70 million will come from cost savings, with the remainder expected from revenue opportunities.

Cost savings are expected from supply chain efficiencies, manufacturing optimization, logistics, service centers and G&A. Revenue opportunities will come from expanding Kelvion technologies across SLB’s customer base and into new geographic markets.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

SLB expects the combined data center business to generate $700 million to $800 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2028 alongside its $4.5 billion to $5 billion revenue target.

For SLB, the acquisition moves data centers from a modular construction business into a broader infrastructure strategy spanning engineering, thermal management and potentially power.

About the Author

Senior News Writer, Data Center Knowledge

Shane Snider is Senior News Writer at Data Center Knowledge, covering AI infrastructure, hyperscale data centers, cloud platforms, and the power and energy systems driving modern compute expansion. His reporting focuses on the operational, economic, and environmental forces reshaping digital infrastructure, including AI factories, utility constraints, liquid cooling, renewable energy procurement, and next-generation data center architectures. He has won recent Azbee awards for news series and government reporting. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Snider covers how hyperscalers, utilities, chipmakers, and infrastructure providers are responding to the rapid rise of AI workloads and global compute demand.

You can reach Shane at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.