Advanced Cooling Technologies

What Advanced Cooling Technologies does

Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT), founded in 2003 and headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is a thermal management engineering and manufacturing firm serving data center, aerospace, defense, medical, energy, and industrial customers. The company designs and produces a full spectrum of passive and active cooling technologies, including heat pipes, loop thermosyphons, vapor chambers, phase change materials, liquid cold plates, pumped two-phase (P2P) cooling systems, environmental control units (ECUs) branded as Tekgard and Vaphtek, and coolant distribution units (CDUs) for data center applications. Proprietary technology platforms include HiK Plates embedding heat pipes into aluminum bases (boosting conductivity to 1000+ W/m-k), two-phase cold plates capable of 500+ W/cm² heat flux, and the Vaphtek hybrid ECU that combines vapor compression with pumped two-phase cooling to reduce power consumption by up to 70%. ACT's technology has accumulated over 100 million space flight hours on Constant Conductance Heat Pipes and holds AS9100, ISO 9001, and ITAR certifications.

ACT operates a hybrid business model combining custom-engineered thermal solutions sold via direct enterprise sales to defense primes (Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, CACI, SAAB), aerospace primes, and AI/data center customers, with a standardized-product e-commerce storefront for smaller buyers. Quote-based pricing applies to custom projects, while standard enclosure coolers, heat pipe coolers, thermoelectric coolers, and accessories are sold at unit prices ranging from $215 to $5,000+. A significant share of R&D is funded through federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR/STTR) programs, with cumulative sales from these programs exceeding $250 million since founding. The company employs 80+ engineers and operates 60,000+ sq ft of manufacturing space, expanding to over 110,000 sq ft with a new Lancaster facility dedicated to AI data center cold plates with 500,000+ unit annual capacity. ACT acquired Canyon Composites in October 2025 to extend into composite and metallic structures for space and defense, and in February 2026 Blackstone Energy Transition Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake to fund further scaling of AI infrastructure cooling.

Name

Advanced Cooling Technologies

Legal name

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc.

Website

https://1-act.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT) is a Lancaster, Pennsylvania thermal management engineering and manufacturing firm founded in 2003 that designs and produces heat pipes, liquid cold plates, pumped two-phase cooling systems, and coolant distribution units for data center, aerospace, defense, medical, energy, and industrial customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Thermal Management Solutions

NAICS

Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (33341), Automatic Environmental Control Manufacturing for Residential, Commercial, and Appliance Use (334512), Heating Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) Manufacturing (333414)

SIC

Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585), Industrial & Commercial Fans & Blowers & Air Purifing Equip (3564)

akta.pro primary industry

Cooling Systems & Thermal Management (CRAC/CRAH, Chillers, Liquid Cooling) (HDABAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Thermal Management Components (Heat sinks, TIMs, fans/blowers, thermal pads) (IMAGAJAL), Space Structures, Mechanisms & Thermal Control (IMABACAF), Aerospace Thermal Management, Insulation & Fire Protection Materials (IMABANAE), Heat Exchangers & Thermal Transfer Equipment (IMAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Thermal management solutions
• Custom heat pipes
• Liquid cooling systems
• Data center cooling
• Pumped two-phase cooling

Headquarters

HQ city

Lancaster

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Thermal Solutions: ACT generates revenue through custom-engineered thermal management solutions designed and manufactured for specific customer applications. This includes heat pipes, cold plates, ECUs, and complete thermal systems sold to aerospace, defense, data center, medical, and energy customers.
2. Standard Product Sales: Sale of standardized thermal management products through the online shop including sealed enclosure coolers, heat pipe coolers, thermoelectric coolers, cabinet air conditioners, and accessories/replacement parts.
3. Government R&D Contracts (SBIR/STTR): Revenue from government-funded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. ACT has surpassed $250 million in cumulative SBIR sales since founding in 2003.
4. Engineering Services: Includes research & development, product development, space thermal & structural design & analysis, manufacturing, and lifecycle management services supporting product sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT) designs and manufactures custom thermal management solutions for aerospace, defense, data centers, medical, and energy customers. The portfolio spans passive technologies (heat pipes, loop thermosyphons, vapor chambers, phase change materials) and active thermal systems (liquid cooling, pumped two-phase loops, environmental control units, coolant distribution units, and composite structures). Standard products are sold via an online shop, while engineered solutions are delivered through direct enterprise engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tekgard: Environmental Control Units (ECUs) and chillers for cooling applications
• Vaphtek
• HiK Plates
• ICE-Lok
• ACT-HSC
• ACT-HPC
• ACT-TEC
• ACT-VCC

Products and services

• HiK Plates (Heat Pipe Assemblies) Heat spreader plates embedding heat pipes into aluminum base plates, boosting thermal conductivity to over 1,000 W/m-K for electronics cooling in aerospace, defense, and high-performance computing applications.
• Loop Thermosyphons Passive two-phase heat transfer devices leveraging latent heat of vaporization, including constant conductance, variable conductance, pulsating, and loop heat pipes used for space and terrestrial thermal control.
• Two-Phase Liquid Cold Plates High-performance liquid cold plates with over 500 W/cm² heat flux capability for direct-to-chip cooling in AI and high-performance computing applications.
• Pumped Two-Phase (P2P) Cooling Systems Active cooling technology using pumped refrigerant circulation that supports orientations against gravity and can remove 10s to 100s of kW of energy with best-in-class temperature control and isothermality.
• Vaphtek Hybrid Environmental Control Unit (ECU) Hybrid ECU combining vapor compression cooling with pumped two-phase cooling that automatically switches to P2P mode in low ambient temperatures, reducing electrical power consumption by up to 70% for military and industrial enclosures.
• Tekgard Environmental Control Units (ECUs) Environmental control units for ruggedized cooling of enclosures in military and industrial applications, including the Vaphtek hybrid variant.
• Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs) Liquid cooling infrastructure from 15 kW in-rack units to 200 kW end-of-row and 1 MW facility-scale systems for data center applications supporting AI and high-density workloads.
• ICE-Lok Embedded Computing Cooling Embedded computing cooling solution for ruggedized military and aerospace applications that has earned flight heritage status.
• Constant Conductance Heat Pipes (Space) Passive heat transfer devices with over 100 million space flight hours of heritage, used for spacecraft thermal control in zero-gravity orbital and deep space environments.
• Sealed Enclosure Coolers (HSC, HPC, TEC, VCC) Standardized thermal management products for sealed enclosures, including heat sink coolers (ACT-HSC), heat pipe coolers (ACT-HPC), thermoelectric coolers (ACT-TEC), and vapor compression coolers (ACT-VCC) sold through the online shop.
• HVAC Energy Recovery Systems (AAHX, WAHX) Air-to-air heat pipe exchangers (AAHX) and wrap-around heat pipe exchangers (WAHX) for HVAC energy recovery, with WAHX providing controllable reheat and enhanced dehumidification with payback periods under two years.
• Composite Structures & Honeycomb Radiator Panels Lightweight composite structures and honeycomb radiator panels for space applications, expanded through the acquisition of Canyon Composites Inc.
• Thermal Engineering Services Research & development, product development, space thermal and structural design and analysis, manufacturing, and lifecycle management services supporting customer thermal solution programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced data center cooling energy consumption by 30-50%
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Canyon Composites Inc.coreOthers · 1 October 2025ACT acquired Canyon Composites, a manufacturer of composite and metallic structures based in Anaheim, California. The acquisition expands ACT's thermal management solutions for space, defense, and other industries while strengthening West Coast presence.
• IntelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2024Collaboration partner on U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E COOLERCHIPS program to develop energy-efficient cooling solutions for data centers. ACT received $1.1 million grant with Intel providing technical collaboration for high-performance cooling technologies including two-phase immersion cooling and hybrid two-phase loops.
• Purdue UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2024Academic partner on DOE ARPA-E COOLERCHIPS program collaborating on high-power, high-efficiency cooling technologies for data centers.
• University of MissouricoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2024Academic partner on DOE ARPA-E COOLERCHIPS program contributing to development of high-performance cooling technologies for data center applications.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/actheatpipes
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/AdvancedCoolingTech/feed
• Facebookfacebook.com/advancedcoolingtechnologies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/advanced-cooling-technologies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Advanced Cooling Technologies