Renewables

CoolIT Systems and Switch Datacenters to launch sustainable data centres

CoolIT Systems and Switch Datacenters have unveiled a strategic partnership that will benefit an industry seeking to improve the sustainability of data centres. Following the recent release of the World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies, featuring 'sustainable computing' as the ninth ranked emerging technology, the collaboration facilitates data centre space and the necessary technology to significantly curtail energy and water consumption inherent in modern data centres. With a history spanning more than a decade, Switch Datacenters has demonstrated a commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability. Its latest 45MW AMS6 data centre, near the Schiphol airport area, features an HPC/AI-ready design that uses data centre heat to warm adjacent greenhouses. Currently under development, its AMS5s is designed to make a significant contribution to the Amsterdam municipal heat grid with green, CO2-neutral heat. For both data centres, there's a marked preference for liquid cooling, because it allows heat extraction at temperatures higher than traditional air cooling, offering enhanced economic value. CoolIT Systems is the provider of efficient Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) and Rear Door Heat Exchangers (RDHx) that enable heat reuse and help customers meet key ESG targets. Its DLC technology is featured as a factory-installed, warranty approved feature from most major servers OEMs. “CoolIT's DLC and RDHx technologies have been instrumental in various data centre heat reuse projects for years, with customers reporting at minimum a savings of 10% on energy bills (OPEX), more than 50% on CAPEX spends, and examples of PUE lowered from 1.30 to 1.02,” expresses Peggy Burroughs, Director of CoolIT Next. "Our collaborations with most major server OEMs have cultivated an expansive ecosystem for clients aspiring to achieve both business and ESG goals." "CoolIT is the right company to help make our vision a reality at an industrial scale. Both CoolIT and Switch Datacenters have shared the same passion for sustainable innovation for years and truly want to elevate the industry's adoption of liquid cooling. We believe liquid cooling will be the game-changer in the next wave of sustainable data centre designs, and CoolIT is one of the very few companies that can lead this upcoming demand, thanks to their long history of innovation, reliability, breadth of portfolio, and capabilities to scale with their numerous IT partners worldwide," says Gregor Snip, CEO of Switch Datacenters. Data centres are projected to account for 8% of the global electricity consumption by 2030. Technologies such as DLC can significantly reduce data centre energy consumption by 25 - 40% and deliver water savings of 70 - 97%, depending on local climate and specific implementations.

Saft battery replaces diesel backup at Microsoft data centre

Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, has delivered a battery energy storage system (BESS) to replace diesel backup power generators at Microsoft’s sustainable data centre in Sweden. The system entered operation in June 2023 as a key milestone on Microsoft’s path to diesel-free data centres by 2030. The new BESS results from a collaboration formed between TotalEnergies and Microsoft in March 2021 to drive towards net zero goals with opportunities for wider deployment. Until now, diesel generators have been essential for data centre power continuity in the case of a grid outage. Running generators for backup and testing was an unavoidable source of greenhouse gas emissions. The new large-scale BESS overcomes this by providing four groups of 4MWh each for up to 80min of back up energy. Saft deployed the BESS over 16 months following Microsoft’s approach to data centre architecture. This focuses on safety and reliability by creating backup systems in groups that work independently to ensure a high level of redundancy. As well as displacing the diesel generator, the BESS supports grid stability and provides black start capability to ensure rapid recovery of the power grid in the case of an outage. Saft delivered the BESS on a turnkey basis with integrated power conversion and control equipment divided across four independent groups. The scope included a total of eight Intensium Max 20 High Energy containers organised in four groups, each capable of delivering a peak power rating of 3MW.

Asanti Datacentres takes major step towards net zero future

Asanti Datacentres has signed an energy supply deal which will reduce the carbon emissions at its operations across the UK to zero.   The deal with Bryt Energy means that Asanti will reduce its carbon footprint significantly, reducing carbon emissions related to its 14mKW of energy use to zero, eradicating an estimated 2,856 tonnes of CO2 every year.   Asanti operates six 'regional edge' data centres across the UK, including Hamilton, Livingston, Reading, Leeds, Farnborough and Manchester.   The news comes during the Scottish Government’s ‘Climate Week’, an annual event that encourages individuals, communities and businesses to come together and raise awareness of what’s being done to tackle the global climate emergency.   The signed 100% renewable electricity contract, Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), means that Asanti’s data centres will be powered by a combination of solar, wind and hydro energy, which will be supplied by Bryt Energy. Business-wise solutions supported Asanti throughout the process and will continue to manage the energy procurement on its behalf.  Its move to 100% zero carbon compares to a UK industry average of less than 40%.   Click here for more latest news.

Alfa Laval spearheading drive for more sustainable data centres

Alfa Laval has launched its latest, most sustainable T21 gasketed plate heat exchanger (GPHE), to help the data centre sector save tonnes of CO2, through highly efficient cooling and minimised energy consumption, following the reports that UK greenhouse gas emissions have risen year-on-year. According to a June 2023 report from the Office for National Statistics, UK greenhouse gas emissions rose by 3% to just over 502 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent between 2020 and 2021. This announcement was followed by findings from the International Energy Association (IEA), that energy use from data centres has grown by 20 - 40% annually from 2010. With the IEA expecting further, more moderate sector expansion, more efficient facilities will be needed to keep its carbon footprints from growing. These figures and findings, alongside tightening sustainability legislation, underline why the data centre industry must maintain its impressive momentum around decarbonisation, and the impact reviewing process equipment at existing and new facilities could have on these ongoing efforts. According to Gemma Reeves, Business Unit Manager for Heat Transfer at Alfa Laval, sector sustainability strategies should be expanded to focus on minimising energy use and realising heat recovery opportunities. Advanced, efficient plate heat exchanger technologies such as the T21 will be key to this. “Energy efficiency can account for more than 40% of emissions reductions in the next 20 years and will be crucial to achieving net zero,” Gemma says. “Considering 50% of today’s potential for energy savings comes from industry, and 30% can be achieved from buildings, this puts pressure on power-intensive sectors to decarbonise. For data centre stakeholders, the selection of more efficient process equipment can provide an immediate way to reduce carbon footprints while optimising performance. “For example, our new T21’s upgraded plates provide more opportunity to increase thermal efficiency, minimising the demand on mechanical cooling methods that are becoming increasingly pushed to their limits as rack densities increase. Similarly, it allows for more effective recovery of waste heat, which can be redeployed for other site processes or for use in other systems such as district heating schemes. Harnessing and reusing these otherwise wasted process by-products will be crucial to emissions reduction, so I would urge data centre stakeholders to explore solutions that will allow them to do so effectively and efficiently, including the T21.” The new T21 includes Alfa Laval’s energy driven patented efficiency features, including CurveFlow distribution area technology to improve media flow and minimise fouling risks, alongside the company’s OmegaPort, which further enhances flow and thermal efficiency. The T21 also incorporates the possibility to further optimise the unit efficiency with Alfa Laval’s FlexFlow plate design, which uses asymmetric channels to optimise pressure drop utilisation and make additional improvements to thermal efficiency when unequal flows are at play. “GPHEs are often crucial to a facility’s uptime, so ensuring best possible performance and equipment specification is a must for data centres,” Gemma concludes. “Collaboration across the supply chain will be required to ensure energy consumption can be reduced and operators’ decarbonisation journeys remain on track. Specifying effective solutions such as the T21 will be crucial to this, so it is vital data centre stakeholders work in close partnership with suppliers to identify opportunities where upgraded equipment can help turn potential efficiencies into reality.” Click here for more latest news.

Vantage Data Centers to continue deploying renewable generator fuel

Vantage Data Centers has announced the continued deployment of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a renewable fuel to replace conventional diesel fuel in generators. The company will roll out HVO in several of its markets in North America and EMEA.  HVO is 100% biodegradable and non-toxic, offering a more sustainable fuel option while delivering the same level of functionality as traditional diesel. Repurposing waste oils like vegetable oil to create sustainable fuels significantly reduces the embodied carbon due to the cleaner sourcing and creation process. Leveraging HVO offers an actionable opportunity for Vantage and other data centre operators to take a positive step toward reducing carbon emissions.  Initially deployed as a pilot at Vantage’s Cardiff, Wales campus in 2022, the company’s deployment of HVO as an alternative to diesel fuel yielded progress toward its carbon goals without the need for new or updated infrastructure. Given the success of the pilot, it officially implemented HVO at its newest facility, CWL13, on the Cardiff campus and is currently working to deploy the renewable fuel throughout the rest of the campus. In addition, it will deploy HVO in one of its North American flagship markets, Santa Clara, California, by the end of the year. The broad launch of hydrotreated vegetable oil comes as the company progresses toward its sustainability goals. The use of renewable diesel fuels significantly reduces the embodied carbon of the fuel consumed in diesel generators, which helps to reduce Scope 3 emissions associated with the company’s supply chain. According to fuel suppliers, the use of HVO reduces the lifecycle carbon emissions by 65 - 90% compared to conventional diesel.  In 2022, Vantage partnered with the Data Center Coalition (DCC) and its members to lead a technical working group focused on driving market support for HVO as availability and costs vary by geography. Based in the Northern Virginia area, where HVO prices are approximately 95% higher than diesel fuel, DCC seeks to influence the supply chain and stakeholders to unlock increased availability.

Is on-premise hydrogen production for greenhouse gas abatement a viable option?

By Joe Sheehan, Technical Director, i3 Solutions Group With green hydrogen widely touted as the most desirable option for achieving climate change goals, the debate is heating up in the data centre sector, where proponents of hydrogen believe it could well be an ideal primary power source for putting the sector on a path to net zero. But if hydrogen is the answer, there are important issues to address, not the least of which the necessary changes to the utility power and gas infrastructure. Additionally, we urgently need to gather data on the greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement benefits that might accrue from data centres using hydrogen. For a data centre, the real GHG abatement value of hydrogen lies in decarbonising the electricity supply - swapping out the utility grid for primary power and using green hydrogen to fuel engines or fuel cells for continuous use. This would take the data centre’s electrical consumption and replace it with a genuine source of renewable energy, since hydrogen causes no carbon emissions in use and green hydrogen is generated using only power from renewable sources. But achieving such a goal brings its own challenges. While many countries have developed a strategy for hydrogen, the hydrogen economy itself – in the form of production, transport and storage - is just not here yet. Practically no location yet supplies infrastructure or any piped hydrogen. It is certainly not yet possible to bring in vessels containing compressed hydrogen at a sufficient volume and rate to provide for full and continuous operation of a modern data centre. One obvious solution to this challenge could be for data centres and other energy intensive users to become both hydrogen producers and storage facilities. However, there isn’t currently a viable on-site source of clean energy that would produce green hydrogen by electrolysis of water. Where could such an energy supply come from? One possible answer is for data centres to tap into a renewable power grid and utilise such a grid’s surplus energy for the production of green hydrogen. When the wind is blowing or the sun is shining and/or demand is low, taking electricity from Renewable Energy Resources (RERs) means the carbon emissions associated with each kilowatt hour of energy supply are low. And in the opposite circumstances – when the wind is not blowing, the sun is not shining, and electrical demand is high – data centres could operate using its own reserves of locally stored green hydrogen rather than the utility grid topping up capacity using fossil-fuelled power plants to fulfil demand. Use of hydrogen stored on-site for peak shaving at times of high demand and low renewable supply levels out demand on the grid. This is a form of carbon trade-off, since drawing less power from the grid reduces the use of fossil fuels, achieving a net gain in emissions reduction. But is the round-trip efficiency, using this strategy good enough to achieve a meaningful advantage? Modelling the carbon benefits The big question is whether on-site hydrogen production is economically and spatially viable and offers affordable benefits in terms of greenhouse gas abatement. Using carbon intensity data which is publicly available from grid networks in the UK and Ireland, i3 built a mathematical model of the process and measured what GHG abatement benefits it might bring about. It factored in the storage and technology that would be necessary, with the model using a nominal 10MW data centre in different locations. The model showed the returns are quite modest in terms of carbon emission reductions in places like Scotland, where there are a lot of renewables on offer. It is possible to reduce by about 10% a data centre’s energy or carbon emissions - approximately 500 tonnes of carbon per year. Interestingly, the percentage reduction in the southeast of the UK was smaller, but that worked out to be the same carbon reduction in absolute terms because there is higher grid carbon intensity in the region. In other words, the carbon costs are higher, so a smaller percentage reduction is an equivalent saving. These modest returns need to be weighted against the cost of applying the hydrogen technology to data centres at sufficient scale. The i3 model provides useful insight about the need to coordinate with grid-level facilities. It has also aided understanding of how battery energy storage, and in future, hydrogen, could be used in conjunction with the grid for a range of technologies, including various forms of energy storage and electricity demand reduction in data centres. The tool developed can be applied to data centre designs for many types of energy storage systems and reveal what potential benefits they bring about in terms of carbon reduction. The amount of activity in the hydrogen market, from production to transport to storage is accelerating. The biggest cost is green hydrogen production, for which excess renewable energy is required. However, it is projected that these costs will come down. Some point to conditions where because grids are integrating increasing amounts of power generated using renewable energy sources this will lead to excess capacity at times of low user demand, making more clean energy available for electrolysis. In addition, the huge growth in the scale of electrolyser production will aid the speed at which the economics of green hydrogen production will swing in favour of the consumer. As green hydrogen becomes more available, the economies of scale will start to improve, making hydrogen a more viable fuel source for electricity for powering data centres. Production value Like many countries, the UK is a long way from a national hydrogen gas transport network (pipes), and therefore local production in data centres and other energy intensive industries should be considered. Designing and developing data centres with hydrogen in mind needs to happen. We can future-proof data centres for the growth of hydrogen production and supply, for example, by specifying the use of reciprocating engines or fuel cells which can be run using hydrogen as well as other fuels in data centre designs. Click here for more latest news.

Hyperscale data centres key to driving APJ’s energy transition

As corporations and governments pursue the challenge of achieving a low-carbon future in Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ), AirTrunk has released its ‘Powering a Clean Energy Future’ report that identifies hyperscale data centres as key drivers in APJ’s energy transition to 24/7 clean energy (CE). The report highlights how a hyperscale data centre’s size, electricity demand profile, innovation capabilities and proven experience in procuring renewable energy puts them in a prime position for partnership to accelerate the transition. Through energy system modelling, the report also determines the most effective technology pathways and costs to reaching 24/7 (CE), providing holistic analysis of what is required. AirTrunk's Head of Energy and Climate, Joscha Schmitz, says, “24/7 clean energy is crucial to achieving climate targets by fully decarbonising power grids. As the major hyperscale data centre provider in APJ, we released this report with the intention to build momentum towards achieving 24/7 clean energy in the region.” “24/7 clean energy is more advanced in the European and North American markets due to resource availability and market maturity. The report outlines opportunities to successfully deliver clean energy technology in APJ, which is the fastest growing region, but the one experiencing the most difficulty in managing the energy transition,” says Joscha. The report recognises the need for more industry collaboration and highlights the six steps key industry players and governments must do to fully realise the potential of 24/7 CE in APJ, including: Increase and strengthen grid interconnection between markets Accelerate ‘green molecules’ and other new firming and storage technologies Diversify renewables portfolio with local firming solutions Leverage on-site infrastructure to support local grids and power markets Shift non-latency-sensitive loads to lower cost markets Start the discussion to achieve 24/7 clean energy in a cost-optimal way AirTrunk's Chief Technology Officer, Damien Spillane, says, “Major corporations and governments in APJ have made significant emissions reductions commitments, however in the current climate, it remains challenging to achieve these. That’s why we are calling on energy providers, sustainability groups, corporations and governments to work together, and with us, to facilitate a clean energy future for all.” “We take our responsibility as a key enabler of the transition seriously and will continue to focus our efforts on decarbonisation as we progress toward net zero emissions by 2030,” says Damien. The ‘Powering a Clean Energy Future’ report can be downloaded here. Click here for more latest news.

Data centres’ net zero plans blown off track by the energy crisis

According to research published by Schneider Electric, 81% of business leaders at UK and Irish data centres say the energy crisis will impact their organisation’s ability to meet its emissions reduction plans. Of that figure, around half of organisations say they are delaying planned investment in sustainability and net zero plans (49%). Four in ten of the same organisations (40%) say they now have more immediate business challenges to meet, while 43% claim that emission reduction targets are no longer an issue for their stakeholders. More than one in five (22%) of these firms claim that taking practical action to meet targets is difficult. Decarbonisation helps businesses reduce energy use and lower energy costs at a time when energy prices remain volatile.  Crucially, the survey of more than 1,500 large organisations reveals that business leaders still recognise the importance of working to emissions reduction targets, as nearly one third (32%) of data centre business leaders believe that climate change and net zero ambitions will become more of a priority over the next three years. Only a small minority (11%) believe that national net zero commitments will be diluted in that time. “Business leaders tell us that the energy crisis should be seen alongside the many other challenges they have faced over the last twelve months, including economic pressures, cyber security and skills shortages. Yet our research suggests that some of the UK and Ireland’s data centres are ‘kicking the carbon emissions can down the road’, as a result of the energy crisis,” says Mark Yeeles, Vice President, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric UK and Ireland. “As fears grow about progress against global commitments made under the Paris Agreement, and the UK’s Climate Change Committee warns of a lack of progress on emissions cuts, the UK and Ireland need data centres to play their part and stick to their net zero and emissions reduction targets,” says Mark Yeeles. The survey also reveals that 32% of data centre managers believe that energy prices will fall over the next three years, while more than seven out of ten (71%) think their organisation will still be addressing the energy crisis in 12 months’ time. Presenting the survey findings, Mark Yeeles urged data centres to re-engage with their emissions reduction ambitions, “It’s not all doom and gloom, as our research shows, business leaders still believe in their climate change ambitions – they simply need to push the subject back up the corporate agenda. “The technology required to help businesses decarbonise is already available – and the return on investment for these solutions has never been more attractive, with payback periods measured in months rather than years. Organisations still have time to meet their net zero commitments by understanding and addressing energy use, investing in renewable energy and energy saving technology, and embedding sustainability and carbon reduction targets in their business plans. “What’s more, those that invest in green skills and green jobs will reap the rewards of a diverse workforce for decades to come. At Schneider Electric, we’ve seen this for ourselves through our apprenticeship and graduate programmes.” Click here for more latest news.

IONOS announces climate strategy 2030

IONOS has announced its climate strategy 2030. While IONOS has long been committed to environmental sustainability, the new strategy includes a long-term plan for the future of its data centres as well as its office targets. Further reducing data centre emissions By 2030, IONOS aims to reduce data centre carbon emissions by 55% from 2019 levels, actively working to reduce Scope 1 emissions from diesel by switching to biofuel-powered generators where possible. The company is also continuing its commitment to sourcing 100% renewable electricity. This is the most significant contributor to IONOS‘ minimised Scope 2 carbon emissions, under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHP). In addition, it plans to have renewable energy generation, such as solar photovoltaic panels, on-site at 50% of its own data centres. While the company currently uses trusted carbon offsets (Scope 1 & 2), its primary goal is to reduce reliance on these through proactive carbon reduction measures. Measuring and reducing the value chain IONOS will also look beyond its direct operations. The company commits to measuring and reducing carbon emissions from its value chain (Scope 3). It will establish a carbon footprint in 2024 and explore actions in areas that are most likely to be high impact, such as server lifecycle and data centre construction. As a first step, IONOS will engage 90% of its key tech-ops suppliers by spend, to set supplier climate targets. While data centres account for the majority of IONOS’ impact, the company will target 100% renewable electricity in its global offices, adding up to 100% renewable electricity use overall. Additionally, it will target 100% electric vehicles in its company car fleet. Achim Weiss, CEO of IONOS, says, “We are proud of our environmental sustainability achievements so far. Our new 2030 climate strategy will build upon our previous initiatives and target 100% renewable energy across all operations, as well as further reduce our carbon footprint and push our suppliers to follow suit. The next step towards this strategy is evaluating the use of waste heat from our data centres.” Worcester data centre as a blueprint In October 2022, IONOS opened its most sustainable data centre to date in Worcester, UK. This will serve as a blueprint for how the group will build and design data centres in the future. Some of the sustainability design features incorporated include: 10% of total energy from on-site solar power Backup generators powered by biofuel, reducing carbon emissions by 90% Carbon neutral (offset) steel used in construction On-site bee & bug hotels to improve local insect biodiversity   Best in class energy efficiency  Progress to date In addition to the new initiatives, it has implemented many past and current environmental sustainability initiatives. These include: Since 2021, Strato offices have been powered by renewable electricity. Since 2022, the new IONOS US Philadelphia office has been powered by renewable electricity. In 2021, 50% of electricity in offices was renewable, rising to 66% in 2022. This already represents 99.5% renewable electricity in total across all operations data centres and offices. It has been purchasing 100% renewable electricity for many years. This is and will remain the biggest factor in reducing direct carbon emissions from the data centres. Despite growing more than 50% (revenue) as a business since 2018, IONOS has reduced its absolute energy consumption by 9.6% since 2018, thanks to dedicated energy management teams and a certified ISO 50001 management system. IONOS has recycled and refurbished more than 510 tonnes of servers and IT equipment since 2018. In addition to its latest UK data centre, it has two further solar installations planned for 2023. Developing a liquid cooling system to support reusing heat energy from new data centres for extended district heating networks. Investigating options for reusing waste heat to heat office buildings and conduct a feasibility study. Click here for more latest news.

AirTrunk releases report on powering a clean energy future  

As corporations and governments pursue the challenge of achieving a low-carbon future in Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ), AirTrunk has released its ‘Powering a Clean Energy Future’ report that identifies hyperscale data centres as key drivers in APJ’s energy transition to 24/7 clean energy (CE). The report highlights how a hyperscale data centre’s size, electricity demand profile, innovation capabilities and proven experience in procuring renewable energy puts them in a prime position for partnership to accelerate the transition. Through energy system modelling, the report also determines the most effective technology pathways and costs to reaching 24/7 (CE), providing holistic analysis of what is required. AirTrunk, Head of Energy and Climate, Joscha Schmitz, says, “24/7 clean energy is crucial to achieving climate targets by fully decarbonising power grids. As the major hyperscale data centre provider in APJ, we released this report with the intention to build momentum towards achieving 24/7 clean energy in the region. “24/7 clean energy is more advanced in the European and North American markets due to resource availability and market maturity. The report outlines opportunities to successfully deliver clean energy technology in APJ, which is the fastest growing region, but the one experiencing the most difficulty in managing the energy transition,” says Joscha. The report also recognises the need for more industry collaboration and highlights the six steps key industry players and governments must do to fully realise the potential of 24/7 CE in APJ, including: Increase and strengthen grid interconnection between markets Accelerate ‘green molecules’ and other new firming and storage technologies Diversify renewables portfolio with local firming solutions Leverage on-site infrastructure to support local grids and power markets Shift non-latency-sensitive loads to lower cost markets Start the discussion to achieve 24/7 clean energy in a cost-optimal way AirTrunk, Chief Technology Officer, Damien Spillane, says, “Major corporations and governments in APJ have made significant emissions reductions commitments, however in the current climate, it remains challenging to achieve these. That’s why we are calling on energy providers, sustainability groups, corporations and governments to work together, and with us, to facilitate a clean energy future for all. “We take our responsibility as a key enabler of the transition seriously and will continue to focus our efforts on decarbonisation as we progress toward net zero emissions by 2030,” says Damien.