Daikin plans 2.5x data center cooling capacity, backs HVAC training

Daikin plans to expand North American data center cooling production capacity to 2.5 times its 2024 level while investing in HVAC training, according to the company's Oct. 29 announcement of its 2026 U.S. Business and Innovation Report.

The workforce investment includes the $30 million Daikin Applied Solutions & Technical Institute, a 64,000-square-foot facility that provides hands-on education and professional development through up to 120 training pathways across engineering, service, technical, sales and leadership disciplines.

Daikin also maintains more than 150 educational relationships nationwide through its National Educational Partnership Program to help develop HVAC professionals. The company identifies installation, operation and maintenance of increasingly advanced systems as skills needed to support manufacturing and infrastructure growth.

The training push sits inside a large U.S. operation. Daikin employs more than 25,000 people in the United States and operates 24 manufacturing facilities and nine research and development centers. Its manufacturing strategy emphasizes producing closer to customers, alongside investment in heat pumps, inverter-driven systems and commercial building technologies intended to improve energy efficiency.

Data center cooling is the clearest expansion target. Daikin expects its North American business in that sector to exceed approximately $3.3 billion by fiscal 2030, citing growth in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital services. It is investing in a new Data Center Hub in San Diego for technology development and customer engagement, and plans a $163 million Advanced R&D Test Lab focused on next-generation cooling technologies.