Ventiva unveils fanless cooling solution for ultra-thin 40W laptops

Something to look forward to: Ventiva may have cracked the code for fanless cooling in relatively high-powered laptops and PCs. The thermal management company has introduced a new solution, dubbed ICE9, which can efficiently cool laptops with processors drawing up to 40W of power – all while remaining completely silent.

The ICE9 system uses Ventiva’s patented Ionic Cooling Engine, which generates airflow without any moving parts. Instead of relying on traditional fans, it moves ionized air molecules within an electric field to transfer heat away from the processors. This innovative approach enables ultra-thin and completely silent laptop designs.

Ventiva initially demonstrated its ICE technology for low-power laptops with processors consuming up to 15 watts. The company has since improved its capability to 25 watts, which is currently available. The new 40-watt threshold, however, will make the technology viable for much more powerful systems. Ventiva also offers a suite combining advanced monitoring tools and algorithms, which it claims will allow laptop manufacturers to create sleek, high-performance models under 12mm thick.

The lack of fans also likely enhances the robustness and reliability of the technology compared to traditional fan-based cooling systems over the long term. Eliminating fan assemblies could free up space for additional components or larger batteries, offering manufacturers more design flexibility.

However, integrating high-power chips into ultra-portable laptops presents a significant thermal challenge. In a newly published white paper, Ventiva highlights the delicate balance between cooling requirements and maintaining device silence and compactness. The paper explores how manufacturers assess these trade-offs based on their current product roadmaps and future device strategies.

As noted by Tom’s Hardware, ICE9 cannot be simply retrofitted into existing laptop designs that rely on airflow generated by spinning fans. To fully capitalize on ionic cooling’s capabilities, manufacturers will need to design new chassis specifically optimized for its low static pressure.

Ventiva’s first wave of 25W laptops equipped with ICE9 is scheduled to debut at CES 2025 in January, but the company anticipates that 40W TDP laptops featuring the technology won’t hit the market until 2027.

“Our ICE technology is transforming the electronics market, enabling a new wave of silent, intelligent heat-transferring thermal management solutions, and our latest results underscore the remarkable scalability of our ICE9 solution,” said Carl Schlachte, the CEO of Ventiva.

Ventiva is not alone in the fanless cooling space. Earlier this year, another startup, Frore Systems, introduced the AirJet Mini Slim, a 2.5mm-thin solid-state cooler with self-cleaning capabilities and autonomous thermal optimization.