Nexalus was founded by Dr Tony Robinson, Kenneth O’Mahony and Dr Cathal Wilson.

Trinity College Dublin spin-out Nexalus is collaborating with Canadian defence infrastructure manufacturer TuffTek to develop “next-generation” liquid-cooling platforms.

Nexalus’s cooling systems help control temperature in massive thermal energy-generating infrastructure, including data centres, high-performance computing (HPC) facilities and Formula 1 racing.

The Cork-based start-up was founded by Dr Tony Robinson, Kenneth O’Mahony and Dr Cathal Wilson in 2018.

The partnership will develop cooling platforms for HPCs and AI, for modern defence and security operations, reflecting a growing need for infrastructure that can perform in high-intensity environments, a joint press release from the companies read.

Under the collaboration, Nexalus will lead the design and integration of advanced liquid cooling architectures, enabling TuffTek’s platforms to support higher compute densities.

“This collaboration with TuffTek is about applying Nexalus’s engineering solutions in some of the most demanding use cases globally,” said O’Mahony, the company’s CEO. He is also a board member with Irish Manufacturing Research, having previously represented I2E2 as its chairperson.

“By integrating advanced liquid cooling into TuffTek’s ruggedised, deployable platforms, we are enabling a new standard for performance and efficiency at the edge for a rapidly growing market.”

The company’s technology was recognised as part of Fast Company’s 2025 World Changing Ideas list and Time Magazine’s list of best inventions of 2025.

TuffTek founder and CEO John Kadianos said that the collaboration is focused on solving “real operational challenges” in defence environments.

“As compute requirements increase at the edge, thermal management becomes a limiting factor. Nexalus brings a highly innovative approach that allows us to deliver more capable, reliable systems for our customers.”

TuffTek designs its products for critical operations in harsh environments, such as mining, oil and gas.

Nexalus has been previously featured on SiliconRepublic.com’s list of pioneering Irish start-ups.

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