Data Centre Build News & Insights

Datacloud Middle East comes to Dubai

Taking place in Dubai, UAE on 10–12 February 2026, Datacloud Middle East will highlight the region’s rapid emergence as a global data centre hub, driven by hyperscaler investment, sovereign AI strategies, and large-scale digital transformation. Over three days, the event will examine how the Middle East will build future-ready infrastructure to support AI at scale while advancing sustainability and innovation. More than 50 industry experts will share insights on preparing for AI-driven workloads, with focused discussions on energy strategy, high-density design, and major developments such as Stargate UAE. Driving data centre acceleration in the Middle East The agenda will also address financing and delivery challenges, including capital deployment, modular construction, and international expansion. Sessions will explore operational excellence and sustainability, showcasing advanced cooling technologies, sovereign AI initiatives, and interconnection strategies that will enable resilient, high-performance connectivity across the region. With over 500 attendees, Datacloud Middle East will offer a comprehensive view of how gigawatt-scale campuses, cutting-edge cooling, and strategic partnerships will shape the Middle East’s AI infrastructure leadership. Click here to secure your place now.

Huber+Suhner expands sustainable packaging drive

Huber+Suhner, a Swiss fibre optic cable manufacturer, has broadened the use of recycled and recyclable packaging across its fibre optic portfolio as part of its ongoing sustainability programme. The company has removed more than 743,000 single-use plastic bags, substituted approximately 1.5 million cable ties, and replaced 35,500 blister packages with recycled polyethylene terephthalate. 11 product families are now covered by the initiative. Lana Ollier, Head of Global Sustainability at Huber+Suhner, says, “Removing single-use plastic items and moving more product families to recyclable and sustainable materials show what’s possible when sustainability is designed in, not added on.” Less waste and lower packaging emissions The measures include FSC-certified, recyclable paper packaging for connector and cable assemblies, and recycled PET for fibre modules including LISA, SYLFA HD, and IANOS. Huber+Suhner reports improvements in handling, dust protection, and transport weight. Verified lifecycle assessments indicate that blister packaging emissions have been reduced by around 50% for selected modules when compared with traditional plastics. The changes are intended to cut on-site material waste and ease installation through simplified paper formats and stackable blister trays. Following positive feedback, the company says its sustainable packaging approach will extend to 17 fibre optic product families during 2026. For more from Huber+Suhner, click here.

Multi-million pound Heathrow data centre upgrade completed

Managed IT provider Redcentric has completed a multi-million pound electrical infrastructure upgrade at its Heathrow Corporate Park data centre in London. The project was partly funded through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, which supports high-energy organisations adopting lower-carbon technologies. The programme included replacement of legacy uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). As part of the upgrade, Centiel supplied StratusPower modular UPS equipment to protect an existing 7 MW critical load. Redcentric states the system design allows the facility to increase capacity to 10.5 MW without additional infrastructure work. The site reports a rise in UPS operating efficiency from below 90% to more than 97%, which could reduce future emissions over the expected lifecycle of the equipment. Modular UPS deployment and installation Paul Hone, Data Centre Facilities Director at Redcentric, comments, “Our London West colocation data centre is a strategically located facility that offers cost effective ISO-certified racks, cages, private suites, and complete data halls, as well as significant on-site office space. The data centre is powered by 100% renewable energy, sourced solely from solar, wind, and hydro. “In 2023 we embarked on the start of a full upgrade across the facility which included the electrical infrastructure and live replacement of legacy UPS before they reached end of life. This part of the project has now been completed with zero downtime or disruption. “In addition, for 2026, we are also planning a further deployment of 12 MW of power protection from two refurbished data halls being configured to support AI workloads of the future.” Aaron Oddy, Sales Manager at Centiel, adds, “A critical component of the project was the strategic removal of 22 MW of inefficient, legacy UPS systems. By replacing outdated technology with the latest innovation, we have dramatically improved efficiency delivering immediate and substantial cost savings. “StratusPower offers an exceptional 97.6% efficiency, dramatically increasing power utilisation and reducing the data centre's overall carbon footprint - a key driver for Redcentric. “The legacy equipment was replaced by Centiel’s StratusPower UPS system, featuring 14x500kW Modular UPS Systems. This delivered a significant reduction in physical size, while delivering greater resilience as a direct result of StratusPower’s award-winning, unique architecture. Durata carried out the installation work. Paul Hone concludes, “Environmental considerations were a key driver for us. StratusPower is a truly modular solution, ensuring efficient running and maintenance of systems. Reducing the requirement for major midlife service component replacements further adds to its green credentials. “With no commissioning issues [and] zero reliability challenges or problems with the product, we are already talking to the Centiel team about how they can potentially support us with power protection at our other sites.” For more from Centiel, click here.

DCNN to host webinar with CRH

Resilient data centre infrastructure isn’t built at commissioning; it’s built at conception. DCNN and CRH, a US data centre construction specialist, are coming together for a powerful panel discussion exploring how early collaboration with building material providers and site engineers can shape smarter, stronger, and more sustainable data centres. The webinar, 'From the ground up: How future‑proofing data centres starts at the beginning of the project', is a must‑attend session for anyone involved in planning, designing, or delivering next‑generation facilities. Date: 19 February 2026Time: 3pm BST (10am EST)Location: Online (Zoom) Why join this webinar? • Understand how early‑stage decisions influence long‑term resilience • Hear directly from CRH’s global leaders in sustainability, innovation, and infrastructure delivery • Gain insights across the full project lifecycle - from planning to execution • Connect with experts shaping the future of data centre construction Meet the panel Moderator: Joe Peck, Assistant Editor, DCNN Frans Vreeswijk, VP Customer Solutions Strategy, CRH Americas Jenessa Miglietta, VP Sustainability & Innovation, CRH Americas Thomas Donoghue, VP Industry Innovation, CRH Group Attendees will gain insights into how local providers mitigate challenges and address critical issues, along with practical ideas for accelerating construction timelines. They will also learn strategies for expanding partnerships with essential suppliers. Click here to register now and be part of the conversation that starts at the foundation.

SITE delivers modular DC on remote Atlantic island

Secure I.T. Environments (SITE), a UK design and build company for modular, containerised, and micro data centres, has announced the completion of a complex, modular, containerised data centre for a global telecommunications provider on a remote South Atlantic island. The facility will support mission-critical ground operations connecting customers to next-generation satellite and subsea backbone services. Located 1,800km west of mainland Africa, the remote island offers an effective operating profile for satellite connectivity, but presented formidable barriers including rugged volcanic terrain with no pre-existing access road, minimal local infrastructure, limited sea freight windows, and a single weekly flight subject to weather. The brief demanded a resilient, high-capacity facility capable of continuous operation in a corrosive coastal climate, delivered with meticulous risk management and zero compromise on safety or performance. Overcoming challenging logistics One of the defining aspects of this project was the logistical coordination required not just across continents, but in partnership with the local community. The island’s small population meant that everyone from hotel owners to logistics workers became part of the project in some way. The project created local employment opportunities and, the company says, fostered a sense of community pride in supporting a high-tech project. Given the island's limited flight availability (one flight per week, weather permitting), all deliveries, personnel scheduling, and construction phases had to be meticulously timed. The team also had to navigate unpredictable weather, which could delay flights and shipping schedules. A spokesperson for the client outlines, “This was such a crucial project for us. We did a huge amount of work ensuring we picked an experienced data centre builder that could cope with the challenges. "SITE supported us throughout the design phase, adapted to meet our needs, and created a very detailed plan for delivery and installation, focused on minimising risks. We are very pleased with the outcome.” SITE’s bespoke solution Initial design discussions to final commissioning took 12 months and was completed on time. SITE designed, manufactured, pre-built, and factory-tested a multi-container modular facility - comprising a main data room, a separate UPS/switch room, and lobby space - engineered specifically for the island’s conditions, including specially adapted air conditioning condensers, protective coatings, and materials to withstand high salinity levels and ocean spray. The architecture integrates high-density IT racks with cold-aisle containment, N+1 energy-efficient cooling, modular N+1 UPS, custom switchgear, fire detection and suppression, security systems (CCTV, access control, intruder alarms), fibre raceways, and full electrical infrastructure. All modules underwent integrated systems testing (IST) in the UK to ensure seamless on-site assembly and performance alignment once deployed. Chris Wellfair, Projects Director at SITE, comments, “This was an extraordinary project in every sense: remote location, complex logistics, and high client expectations. "Our modular approach and close collaboration with clients ensured a smooth delivery despite the odds. It’s a project we’re incredibly proud of.” For more from SITE, click here.

Integral triples capacity at Equinix SG1

Integral, a currency technology provider to the financial markets, has tripled the size of its presence at the Equinix SG1 data centre in Singapore to accommodate reported soaring regional demand. The company is also leveraging digital infrastructure company Equinix’s software-defined interconnection, Equinix Fabric, to establish private and direct connections to cloud services providers, as well as key partners and customers. This expansion comes amid increased transaction volumes and system load, with Integral now processing over one million tickets daily at Equinix SG1. Equinix operates a global network of over 270 International Business Exchange (IBX) facilities, providing infrastructure for advanced connectivity and colocation. Connecting clients in Asia-Pacific Integral’s SG1 data facility is employed to service clients not only based in Singapore, but across the Asia-Pacific. The news is directly correlated with the company’s growth in the region, with numerous client partnerships established in the past year. To service this expanding client base, Integral says it is committed to ongoing investment in infrastructure which "supports scalability, reliability, and optimal efficiency." Data is a crucial element of this dynamic and underpins the decision to triple infrastructure footprint at the SG1 data facility. The expansion aims to enable Integral to manage the increase in transaction volumes without a decline in speed or performance. Alongside Singapore (SG1), Integral also operates infrastructure within Equinix data centers in New York (NY4), Tokyo (TY4), and London (LD3). Yee May Leong, Managing Director, Singapore at Equinix, comments, "We are thrilled to support Integral in their significant expansion in SG1. This growth not only reflects Integral's commitment to meeting the soaring demand in the financial markets, but also underscores the trust they place in Equinix as a strategic partner. "Our robust finance ecosystem, combined with our global footprint and seamless access to leading cloud service providers, empowers Integral to deliver unparalleled performance and reliability to their clients across the Asia-Pacific region. "We look forward to continuing our collaboration and enabling Integral to thrive in this dynamic landscape." Harpal Sandhu, CEO of Integral, adds, “For over three decades, Integral has remained resolute in its support of the growing institutional and retail trading landscape across APAC, increasing our established customer base and strengthening the local liquidity ecosystem. "Singapore has been a key market for accelerating our regional presence, and the expansion of our SG1 data facility represents our commitment to ensuring our clients have access to the most sophisticated and agile cloud-based infrastructure possible.”

NorthC to build new data centre in Geneva

NorthC Group, a data centre operator in Northwest Europe, will begin construction of a new data centre in Geneva, Switzerland in Q1 of this year. The new facility will be built at The Hive campus, a technology park just outside Geneva. This will be NorthC’s sixth data centre in Switzerland, in addition to its existing data centres in Biel (Bern), Winterthur (Zurich) and Münchenstein (Basel), as well as the recently announced and yet-to-be-built data centre on the uptownBasel campus in Arlesheim (Basel). The total IT capacity will be 4.5 MW, delivered in phases of 1.5 MW, and the data centre will have a total floor area of 5,400 m², with construction expected to be completed by Q2 2028. NorthC says it will prioritise sustainability in constructing the new data centre "by implementing innovative technologies." The facility will use 100% green power, consistent with all of NorthC's data centres, and its cooling system will require no water. Additionally, backup generators will operate on HVO100, a fossil-free fuel made from renewable materials such as vegetable oils and waste fats. Designed for AI The new data centre will be designed to support emerging technologies (such as inference applications) through direct-to-chip (D2C) liquid cooling, which dissipates heat from computer chips more efficiently than traditional methods. Alexandra Schless, CEO of NorthC Group, comments, “Geneva is an important commercial and economic hub in Switzerland, alongside the Basel and Zurich regions. Demand for digital services - and, consequently, for data centre capacity - is growing rapidly. "This makes Geneva a logical location for NorthC to build a new data centre. The proximity to the renowned scientific research centre, CERN, also offers new opportunities for collaboration in scientific research and innovation, including AI.” Modular design and readiness for residual heat exchange The new Geneva data centre will be built according to NorthC’s standard blueprint design, which is based on modular construction, meaning additional modules can be added and activated as demand increases. This approach often results in more efficient energy consumption and enables rapid scaling. The data centre will also have a direct, high-speed data connection to NorthC’s other locations in Switzerland, providing customers in the region with fast access to services running at other locations. The construction, led by HIAG, a Swiss real estate developer, aims to ensure that the Geneva data centre is designed with sustainability at its core. Like almost all of NorthC's data centres, the Geneva facility will be prepared to support the exchange of residual heat. At The Hive campus, where the data centre is being built, this heat will be used to supply nearby buildings. The facility is also being prepared for a potential future connection to the district heating network operated by the local energy company. For more from NorthC, click here.

Vertiv predicts data centre innovation trends

Data centre innovation is continuing to be shaped by macro forces and technology trends related to AI, according to a report from Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure. The Vertiv Frontiers report, which draws on expertise from across the organisation, details the technology trends driving current and future innovation, from powering up for AI to digital twins and adaptive liquid cooling. Scott Armul, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Vertiv, says, “The data centre industry is continuing to rapidly evolve how it designs, builds, operates, and services data centres in response to the density and speed of deployment demands of AI factories. “We see cross-technology forces, including extreme densification, driving transformative trends such as higher voltage DC power architectures and advanced liquid cooling that are important to deliver the gigawatt scaling that is critical for AI innovation. "On-site energy generation and digital twin technology are also expected to help advance the scale and speed of AI adoption.” The Vertiv Frontiers report builds on and expands Vertiv’s previous annual Data Centre Trends predictions. The report identifies macro forces driving data centre innovation. These include: • Extreme densification — accelerated by AI and HPC workloads• Gigawatt scaling at speed — with data centres now being deployed rapidly and at unprecedented scale• Data centre as a unit of compute — as the AI era requires facilities to be built and operated as a single system• Silicon diversification — noting data centre infrastructure must adapt to an increasing range of chips and compute The report details how these macro forces have in turn shaped five key trends impacting specific areas of the data centre landscape: 1. Powering up for AI Most current data centres still rely on hybrid AC/DC power distribution from the grid to the IT racks, which includes three to four conversion stages and some inefficiencies. This existing approach is under strain as power densities increase, largely driven by AI workloads. The shift to higher voltage DC architectures enables significant reductions in current, size of conductors, and number of conversion stages while centralising power conversion at the room level. Hybrid AC and DC systems are pervasive, but as full DC standards and equipment mature, higher voltage DC is likely to become more prevalent as rack densities increase. On-site generation - and microgrids - will also drive adoption of higher voltage DC. 2. Distributed AI The billions of dollars invested into AI data centres to support large language models (LLMs) to date have been aimed at supporting widespread adoption of AI tools by consumers and businesses. Vertiv believes AI is becoming increasingly critical to businesses, but how - and from where - those inference services are delivered will depend on the specific requirements and conditions of the organisation. While this will impact businesses of all types, highly regulated industries (such as finance, defence, and healthcare) may need to maintain private or hybrid AI environments via on-premise data centres, due to data residency, security, or latency requirements. Flexible, scalable high-density power and liquid cooling systems could enable capacity through new builds or retrofitting of existing facilities. 3. Energy autonomy accelerates Short-term, on-site energy generation capacity has been essential for most standalone data centres for decades to support resiliency. However, widespread power availability challenges are creating conditions to adopt extended energy autonomy, especially for AI data centres. Investment in on-site power generation, via natural gas turbines and other technologies, does have several intrinsic benefits but is primarily driven by power availability challenges. Technology strategies such as 'Bring Your Own Power (and Cooling)' are likely to be part of ongoing energy autonomy plans. 4. Digital twin-driven design and operations With increasingly dense AI workloads and more powerful GPUs also comes a demand to deploy these complex AI factories with speed. Using AI-based tools, data centres can be mapped and specified virtually - via digital twins - and the IT and critical digital infrastructure can be integrated, often as prefabricated modular designs, and deployed as units of compute, reducing time-to-token by up to 50%. This approach will be important to efficiently achieving the gigawatt-scale buildouts required for future AI advancements. 5. Adaptive, resilient liquid cooling AI workloads and infrastructure have accelerated the adoption of liquid cooling, but, conversely, AI can also be used to further refine and optimise liquid cooling solutions. Liquid cooling has become mission-critical for a growing number of operators, but AI could provide ways to further enhance its capabilities. AI, in conjunction with additional monitoring and control systems, has the potential to make liquid cooling systems smarter and even more robust by predicting potential failures and effectively managing fluid and components. This trend should lead to increasing reliability and uptime for high value hardware and associated data/workloads. For more from Vertiv, click here.

Duos Edge AI deploys edge DC in Abilene, Texas

Duos Technologies Group, through its subsidiary Duos Edge AI, a provider of edge data centre (EDC) systems, has deployed a new edge data centre in Abilene, Texas, in partnership with Region 14 Education Service Center. The facility forms part of the company’s ongoing rollout of carrier neutral edge data centres across Texas and is intended to support education, healthcare, workforce development, and local businesses. Expanding regional edge infrastructure Located at Region 14 ESC, the data centre will act as a local colocation site and computing hub for more than 40 school districts and charter schools spanning 11 counties. The company says the installation provides secure processing, increased bandwidth, and low-latency compute closer to users. According to Duos Edge AI, the deployment is designed to reduce reliance on remote data centres and improve access to digital services, including AI-based applications and cloud platforms, particularly for schools in rural and underserved areas. The Abilene installation follows earlier deployments in Amarillo, Waco, and Victoria, and is aligned with the company’s strategy to develop distributed edge capacity for education, healthcare, and enterprise use cases. Doug Recker, President of Duos and founder of Duos Edge AI, comments, “We are excited to partner with Region 14 ESC to bring cutting-edge technology to Abilene and West Texas, bringing a carrier neutral colocation facility to the market while empowering educators and communities with the tools they need to thrive in a digital world.” Region 14 ESC Executive Director Chris Wigington adds, “Collaborating with Duos Edge AI allows us to elevate the technological capabilities of our schools and partners, ensuring equitable access to high-speed computing and AI resources.” The facility is scheduled to become operational in early 2026, with a launch event planned. For more from Duos Edge AI, click here.

Rethinking cooling, power, and design for AI

In this article for DCNN, Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager at Subzero Engineering, shares his predictions for the data centre industry in 2026. He explains that surging rack densities and GPU power demands are pushing traditional air-cooling beyond its limits, driving the industry towards hybrid cooling environments where airflow containment, liquid cooling, and intelligent controls operate as a single system. These trends point to the rise of a fundamentally different kind of data centre - one that understands its own demands and actively responds to them. Predictions for data centres in 2026 By 2026, the data centre will no longer function as a static host for digital infrastructure; instead, it will behave as a dynamic, adaptive system - one that evolves in real time alongside the workloads it supports. The driving force behind this shift is AI, which is pushing power, cooling, and physical design beyond previously accepted limits. Rack densities that once seemed impossible - 80 to 120 kW - are now commonplace. As GPUs push past 700 W, the thermal cost of compute is redefining core engineering assumptions across the industry. Traditional air-cooling strategies alone can no longer keep pace. However, the answer isn’t simply replacing air with liquid; what’s emerging instead is a hybrid environment, where airflow containment, liquid cooling, and predictive controls operate together as a single, coordinated system. As a result, the long-standing divide between “air-cooled” and “liquid-cooled” facilities is fading. Even in high-performing direct-to-chip (DTC) environments, significant residual heat must still be managed and removed by air. Preventing hot and cold air from mixing becomes critical - not just for stability, but for efficiency. In high-density and HPC environments, controlled airflow is now essential to reducing energy consumption and maintaining predictable performance. By 2026, AI will also play a more active role in managing the thermodynamics of the data centre itself. Coolant distribution units (CDUs) are evolving beyond basic infrastructure into intelligent control points. By analysing workload fluctuations in real time, CDUs can adapt cooling delivery, protect sensitive IT equipment, and mitigate thermal events before they impact performance, making liquid cooling not only more reliable but secure and scalable. This evolution is accelerating the divide between legacy data centres and a new generation of AI-focused facilities. Traditional data centres were built for consistent loads and flexible whitespace. AI infrastructure demands something different: modular design, fault-predictive monitoring, and engineering frameworks proven at hyperscale. To fully unlock AI’s potential, data centre design must evolve alongside it. Immersion cooling sits at the far end of this transition. While DTC remains the preferred solution today and for the foreseeable future, immersion is increasingly viewed as the long-term endpoint for ultra-high-density computing. It addresses thermal challenges that DTC can only partially relieve, enabling facilities to remove much of their airflow infrastructure altogether. Adoption remains gradual due to cost, maintenance requirements, and operational disruption - to name a few - but the real question is no longer if immersion will arrive, but how prepared operators will be when it eventually does. At the same time, the pace of AI growth is exposing the limitations of global supply chains. Slow manufacturing cycles and delayed engineering can no longer support the speed of deployment required. For example, Subzero Engineering’s new manufacturing and R&D facility in Vietnam (serving the APAC region) reflects a broader shift towards localised production and highly skilled regional workforces. By investing in R&D, application engineering, and precision manufacturing, Subzero Engineering is building the capacity needed to support global demand while developing local expertise that strengthens the industry as a whole. Taken together, these trends point to the rise of a fundamentally different kind of data centre - one that understands its own demands and actively responds to them. Cooling, airflow, energy, and structure are no longer separate considerations, but parts of a synchronised ecosystem. By 2026, data centres will become active contributors to the computing lifecycle itself. Operators that plan for adaptability today will be best positioned to lead in the next phase of the digital economy. For more from Subzero Engineering, click here.