A viral ad jokes about cooling data centers with pee, and experts explain the real idea

In short: A viral commercial joked about using pee to cool AI data centers, and water experts say the practical version is using recycled wastewater instead of drinking water.

What's going on

A Liquid Death marketing campaign featuring former NFL player Jason Kelce jokes that people should donate their pee to cool AI data centers. Data centers are large buildings full of computers that power online services, and they can use a lot of water to keep machines from overheating.

TechCrunch reports that while the ad is meant to be funny, it points to a real approach already used in many industries. Some data centers use alternative water sources, including recycled water made by treating wastewater from sinks and toilets. This reduces how much potable water (safe drinking water) a data center needs.

Experts interviewed by TechCrunch stressed that you cannot just pour urine into cooling equipment. Urine contains salts and other material that would cause buildup and constant cleaning. Instead, wastewater treatment plants clean used water with filters and other steps (like a very thorough washing and straining process) so it can be reused for industrial cooling.

There are limits. Data centers need huge, steady water supplies, so they often have to be near large wastewater treatment facilities. In Loudoun County, Virginia, data centers used about 200 million gallons of recycled water per day as of 2025, but that was still only 43% of their daily water use, with the rest coming from drinking water supplies.

What to watch

More data center operators may fund local water reuse systems, since building pipes and treatment capacity takes time and money. Policymakers are also discussing incentives, including a proposed 30% tax credit to help pay for recycled water infrastructure.

Source: TechCrunch AI