Data Centres

Energy Transfer to provide gas to CloudBurst data centre

Energy Transfer has announced that it has entered into a long-term agreement with Denver-based CloudBurst Data Centers to provide natural gas to CloudBurst’s flagship AI-focused data centre development in Central Texas. The agreement calls for Energy Transfer’s Oasis Pipeline, LP to provide up to 450,000 MMBtu per day of firm natural gas supply to CloudBurst’s next-generation data centre campus outside of San Marcos, Texas, subject to CloudBurst reaching a final investment decision (FID) with its customer. The natural gas supply would be sufficient to generate up to approximately 1.2 gigawatts of direct, or 'behind the meter' electric power for a period of at least 10 years starting with Phase 1 of the data centre facilities. CloudBurst expects to reach FID later this year and in such event, the facility would be operational in Q3 of 2026. This represents Energy Transfer’s first commercial arrangement to supply natural gas directly to a data centre. Energy Transfer says that it is uniquely positioned to provide reliable natural gas supply that is crucial to the data centre operations under development, many of which are in close proximity to its vast network of more than 105,000 miles of natural gas gathering, and intrastate and interstate transportation pipelines and storage facilities with a combined storage capacity of nearly 236 billion cubic feet. Additionally, Energy Transfer is in discussions with a number of data centre developers and expects this to be the first of many agreements to supply, store and transport natural gas to fuel data centres, electric generation facilities and other power demand customers throughout its nationwide footprint. Cynthia Thompson Executive Chair, CloudBurst Data Centers, comments, “We are very excited about our close relationship with Energy Transfer and feel extremely confident in its ability to provide redundancy through its vast pipeline network and storage capacity. In addition, we will work closely with Energy Transfer to identify additional potential data centre sites, on or close to their strategic natural gas pipeline network, using our proprietary site selection software.”

Manchester data centre appoints connectivity partner

Network services provider, Principle Networks, has been appointed by Datum Datacentres to deliver a high-speed IP transit network for Datum’s new data centre in Manchester. The new IP transit network will enable Datum to deliver high-performance internet connectivity to its clients, and is designed to scale in a manner which ensures end users can increase their consumption of internet-based services, without concerns over connectivity limitations. Through the utilisation of Cisco’s best-in-class service provider internet edge routers to host full internet routing tables, the new network will deliver direct access to the internet backbone, ensuring that Datum has greater control over routing policies, and that it can optimise traffic profiles and maximise network availability and reliability. Datum’s new Manchester data centre facility, MCR2, is currently under construction and is due to go live in spring 2025. It will offer 24,000 square foot of technical space within the 50,000 square foot building. Matt Edgley, COO at Datum Datacentres, comments, “After Principle Networks successfully delivered a similar project at our Farnborough data centre facility, we decided to appoint them as a preferred partner for our new Manchester facility. This complex and critical project required a team that we could trust. The highly resilient IPT provision that Principle Networks is deploying will allow us to offer our clients high performance enterprise grade connectivity with low latency and consistent performance to support digital transformation journeys. “We work with best-of-breed suppliers to provide resilient links across the UK and beyond and are pleased to be continuing our relationship with Principle Networks as a premium connectivity partner.” As specialists in designing and implementing complex data centre networks and scalable, agile cloud-based networks for mid-large enterprises, Principle Networks works across all sectors, including legal, retail, logistics, social housing, automotive, financial services, IT and local government. Russell Crowley, co-founder at Principle Networks, adds, “We are proud to have been chosen to partner with Datum to deliver the IPT network for MCR2. The development of this new data centre is great news for Manchester and will offer businesses the opportunity to host their infrastructure in one of the most well connected, resilient and cutting-edge facilities in the region. We’re excited to be a part of it and are looking forward to the new data centre coming online in the very near future.” For more from Datum Datacentres, click here.

JLL continues data centre recruitment drive with key hire

JLL has announced that Craig Adamoli has joined the company as Senior Director of Data Centre Transactions in its EMEA data centre practice, working with existing clients in a growth role. Craig brings with him 27 years of combined experience within the data centre sector and wider commercial real estate industry, where he is tasked with helping drive growth across JLL’s major hyperscale and growth accounts within EMEA. Based in London, Craig reports to Tom Glover, Head of Data Centre Transactions, EMEA. Tom comments, “We are excited to welcome Craig to the business. He’s held numerous leadership, client management and project roles throughout an impressive career. Craig joins a target driven, revenue orientated, transaction-based team that will benefit from his vast experience. His deep domain background within corporate real estate, paired with the benefit of having worked for a major data centre operator, brings important skill sets to the team and will help with our ambitious growth plans in the region.” Craig recently spent over a decade in various transactional positions at commercial real estate firm, Newmark. Prior to those roles, he worked within Occupier Services at CRBE, before joining Global Switch to run the data centre operator’s London campus. Adamoli’s background also includes time spent heading up mobile communications giant Nokia’s Transaction EMEA Management Team. Craig joins during a time of record demand in the data centre industry. JLL Research recently published a report revealing the sector will grow at a phenomenal pace in 2025. Across the hyperscale and colocation segments, an estimated 10 GW is projected to break ground globally in 2025, while 7 GW will likely reach completion. Based on this current pace of under construction and planned developments, the global data centre market will likely expand at a baseline 15% CAGR through 2027 – with the potential to reach 20%. “I wanted to join a team that was mature, but also had a great growth trajectory and I’m delighted to have found that here at JLL,” Craig states. “With all of the ongoing technological advancements in the sector, this is a burgeoning young industry with huge potential that requires best in class operators. I’m excited to be working within a team that has exceptional subject matter expertise to deliver exceptional value for our clients.” For more from JLL, click here.

Lightpath announces LightCube edge data centres

Lightpath, an all-fibre, infrastructure-based connectivity provider seeking to revolutionise how organisations connect to their digital destinations, has closed the transaction to acquire substantially all of the assets of United Fiber and Data (UFD). The company has also introduced LightCube edge data centres, which will first be deployed along its NYC-Ashburn strategic network route. The company states that the asset additions elevate its position in the digital infrastructure industry, and expand its reach in the New York Metro and Ashburn markets. Lightpath adds the geographically diverse, 323-mile NYC-Ashburn route, as the company continues to amass new and unique route options between these markets. Lightpath also adds 79-miles of metro fibre in New Jersey and New York City, and approximately 250 new commercial service locations in Manhattan. Lightpath now offers over 1,500 enterprise and data centre service locations in Manhattan alone, a five-fold increase over the last three years. Lightpath’s New York City to Ashburn network route is geographically diverse from typical network routes along the I-95 corridor and offers the industry’s lowest latency between the largest population centre in the country and the largest data centre and cloud ecosystem in the world. Service options on this route include dark fibre and wavelengths up to 800 Gbps. Tim Haverkate, EVP of Major Infrastructure Solutions at Lightpath, comments, “This route represents a unique opportunity for customers to connect these critical markets with diversity, latency management, and soon, the addition of edge compute facilities. Lightpath has seen surging demand on this route, with nearly 25% of the cable under contract, a 3.5 times increase since the transaction was initially announced. Further, we are engaged in active conversations with 20 customers resulting in an opportunity pipeline that would oversubscribe the route as it exists today.” Lightpath customers can connect to almost any data centre in the Ashburn region and, in total, can connect to over 140 data centres across its footprint. Lightpath can route customers from any on-net data centres in New York Metro or Boston Metro to Ashburn utilising this route, while also delivering routing options along the I-95 corridor to support services on the NYC-Ashburn route.Lightpath has also introduced LightCube edge data centres – modular, secure, and customisable facilities that fully support the capacity for 864-count fibre cables and the corresponding space and power for edge compute workloads. Lightpath will be upgrading four existing ILAs on the NYC-Ashburn route with new LightCubes in response to customer demand. “This route represents a strategic addition to the Lightpath network, extending our reach from the north-east into the ever-expanding data centre ecosystem in Ashburn,” states Chris Morley, CEO of Lightpath. “We will continue to aggressively pursue organic and inorganic opportunities to meet both the metro and the long-haul requirements on behalf of our hyperscaler, carrier, and enterprise customers.” For more from Lightpath, click here.

Designers create garment made from data centre materials

Ahead of London Fashion Week, designer, Maximilian Raynor, and data centre company, Equinix, have taken wearable tech to a different dimension with the creation of a one-off garment that brings the internet to life by using recycled materials in new and innovative ways. Merging high fashion with sustainability, the dress (which was developed with the codename 'Project Max') is made entirely from discarded data centre materials - including 3,600m of internet cables, metal nuts and bolts - to showcase the ‘personification of the internet herself'. The garment reportedly took in the region of 640 hours to create. Bruce Owen, President EMEA at Equinix, explains, “We have worked with designer, Maximilian Raynor, to bring the internet to life through a visually striking piece of design in the form of a dress made from materials at our London data centres. By bridging the gap between physical and virtual, we wanted to create something tangible that works as a unique talking point to highlight the many thousands of connections that are created by Equinix to support economies and societies every day. “The design pays homage to the physicality of the vital infrastructure that makes up the internet. Rather than some sort of weird magic or unexplainable force that just happens to work, it’s a physical, intricate network of cables, traversing land and sea and creating physical connections housed in Equinix data centres worldwide. “People have never been more aware of the impact of digital on their lives – especially with the explosion in advancements of technologies like AI, cloud, and quantum that all rely on these physical hubs to expand and collaborate. It’s no coincidence that a key theme at Davos last week centred around the Intelligent age and what that means for economies and societies worldwide. “Ultimately, this is a light-hearted way of exploring something important. We want the campaign to showcase the internet’s real-world impact on people’s daily lives and businesses, as well as its vital role in the UK economy. Whether that is the development of new drugs to cure disease, or the way we pay for our food - both online and in shops, or even the way we keep people connected to each other over vast distances. By highlighting the value that data centres bring to society, we aim to answer questions surrounding data centre operations and generate global awareness for our fast-growing and ever-important industry.” For more from Equinix, click here.

Verne expands Helsinki data centre campus

Verne, a provider of sustainably powered HPC data centres across the Nordics, has acquired the land at its existing Helsinki data centre campus, securing room for future expansion. The company says that the purchase marks another milestone in its ambitious growth strategy for the Nordics, following the recent announcement of its new facility to be built in Mäntsälä, Finland. Verne plans to develop the site further, leveraging its 70MW capacity to meet the increasing demand for sustainable, high-performance compute infrastructure. The land was acquired from Onvest, a family-owned company with a long history in the region. The existing site in Helsinki currently serves a number of high-profile multinational customers. Verne tells us that its strategic location provides excellent connectivity to power and fibre networks, proximity to Helsinki Airport, and easy access to the city centre – making it ideal for organisations across industries looking for reliable, accessible, and well-connected facilities. Designed with high-density compute in mind, the planned expansion will include two new buildings fully equipped to meet the technical requirements of AI, HPC, and other intensive workloads.Verne remains committed to sustainability, with the Helsinki campus running on 100% renewable energy. Waste heat generated by the data centre is repurposed through a direct connection to the local district heating network. All new facilities will be built to support liquid cooling, enabling efficient management of the high heat levels generated by AI and other intensive compute workloads. This design makes the existing heat reuse infrastructure even more vital, facilitating the effective capture and repurposing of waste heat.Additionally, Verne uses renewable diesel for its backup power generators in Finland, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the generators by an average of 90%. “The acquisition of this site reinforces Verne’s long-term commitment to Finland and provides an even stronger foundation for our continued growth in the region,” says Dominic Ward, CEO of Verne. “We’ve seen a huge uplift in demand, and having successfully operated from this location for a number of years, we are well-positioned to scale our capabilities and continue delivering industry-leading, sustainable data centre solutions to support the next generation of AI and high-performance computing.” For more from Verne, click here.

AVK to open Netherlands service hub

AVK, a supplier of power solutions for data centres and organisations in the UK and Europe, is driving further European expansion by opening a new service hub in the Netherlands. This strategic move will reduce reliance on AVK’s existing service infrastructure in the UK by creating a strong local presence in Europe. Based in Lelystad – around 30 minutes from Amsterdam – AVK says that the new service hub is the latest example of the company's commitment to providing the highest levels of in-country support for the increasing number of European data centres as they go live, and throughout their operation. By offering AVK’s European customers a dedicated, localised service infrastructure, the hub is designed to deliver enhanced service responsiveness, improved logistics, and stronger client partnerships in Europe’s burgeoning data centre market. When the new service hub opens as scheduled in April this year, companies operating in the energy and data infrastructure sector across Europe can immediately benefit from the greater proximity of AVK service engineers to major data centres, ensuring rapid support and improving operational efficiencies. The Netherlands hub will consist of warehousing, critical spares and administrative offices for which staff recruitment is currently underway, including for a European Service Manager. Plans are in place for AVK to expand its European presence even further, with the next new hub scheduled to be set up later this year in Frankfurt, followed by other key locations. There is already a service office operating in Dublin, Ireland. AVK states that the creation of these new service hubs not only illustrates its forward-thinking approach to integrating local infrastructure, but that it also underlines the company’s growth trajectory and its continuing investment in operational excellence. The hubs also support AVK’s long-term plan to roll out its Academy programme to provide further training. AVK academies are dedicated training hubs that play a vital role in developing the next generation of data centre engineers. Lynsey Partlow (pictured above), Service Director at AVK, says, “For several years, AVK has been expanding its service operations across European territories as a reflection of the significant number of new data centres that have been created. From this summer, we expect to see a lot more data centres commissioned and going live throughout the region, and it is essential that AVK has an active in-country service footprint that enables us to support our partners proactively as they grow. “Setting up these strategic service hubs will help us enormously with our supply chains, our relationships with clients and our field delivery. Instead of locally-based staff relying on our service infrastructure in the UK, having a European infrastructure will make a massive difference to how we support the increasing numbers of customers setting up new data centres across the continent.” Looking even further ahead, Lynsey reveals several additional developments in the pipeline for AVK. For example, AVK technicians are to carry out the service and maintenance of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems that the company installs in data centres to minimise harmful emissions from diesel-powered backup generators. For more from AVK, click here.

VIRTUS launches new data centre in Milan

VIRTUS Data Centres has confirmed plans to establish its first facility in Italy. Located in Cornaredo, within the Milan West data centre cluster, this new site represents a key milestone in VIRTUS’ European expansion strategy. The facility will be developed on a 71,000m2 brownfield site which has zoning in place for a 44,000m2 facility. With the capacity to deliver 70MW of grid power, the site will provide ample capacity to support hyperscalers, enterprises and service providers as digital infrastructure demands in Europe continue to grow. The development will commence in Q2 2025 with the demolition of existing structures and recycling of materials. The new facility is expected to be Ready for Service (RFS) in 2027, bringing additional capacity to one of Europe’s most important data centre markets. Neil Cresswell, CEO of VIRTUS Data Centres, comments, “We are very excited to be continuing our expansion in Europe at pace. Milan is an important European technology hub, and this new development demonstrates our commitment to meeting the demands of our customers for reliable, flexible, high-quality infrastructure. By repurposing a brownfield site, we are minimising environmental impact while strengthening our presence in Europe’s key digital territories.” The Milan data centre is designed to support the increasing requirements of AI workloads, hyperscale environments and high-density computing, while ensuring operational efficiency. Consistent with VIRTUS’ commitment to sustainability, the project will incorporate best practices to reduce environmental impact, including energy-efficient designs, access to renewable power, waste reduction measures and responsible water usage. This development follows VIRTUS’ recent European expansions, including significant new projects in Saunderton in Buckinghamshire, UK, as well as Marienpark and Wustermark in the Berlin region of Germany. It reinforces the company’s position as a trusted partner for organisations seeking innovative, scalable and sustainable data centre solutions.

CtrlS Datacenters launches GreenVolt1 solar farm

CtrlS Datacenters has unveiled its captive GreenVolt1 solar farm in India. Phase I of the solar farm with a capacity of 62.5MWp already went live in June 2024, while Phase II with an additional capacity of 62.5MWp is under implementation. CtrlS spent over a year in R&D to optimise the project and comply with all the regulations.          With ambitious plans to develop over GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 across India, including notable ongoing investments in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, CtrlS is dedicated to reducing carbon emissions and promoting renewable energy adoption. Sridhar Pinnapureddy, Founder and CEO, CtrlS Datacenters says, “GreenVolt 1 will power CtrlS data centres both existing and upcoming, which we believe will set a new benchmark in the Indian data centre industry. We are committed to scaling our DC capacity to over 1GW and our GreenVolt solar farm is a major step towards doing that sustainably.” As part of the $2 billion investment plan announced by CtrlS earlier, the company has set its eyes to achieve net zero goal by 2040. To fulfil that goal, CtrlS is investing in solar projects across India. “GreenVolt1 is a giant leap with an intent to make bigger strides and expand GreenVolt projects across India. This is part of our journey towards sustainability, guided by the idea of responsible growth. We are now closer than ever before to the big picture- Making CtrlS completely carbon neutral by 2040,” Sridhar adds. Located in Nagpur, Maharashtra, the 125 Wp solar farm will power 60% of CtrlS’ Mumbai Datacenter Campus with clean energy, further solidifying the company’s green credentials. With this, enterprises hosted at CtrlS Mumbai Datacenter Campus can achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by offsetting their carbon footprint – in line with the brand mission of helping them take control of digital transformation seamlessly, securely and sustainably. CtrlS GreenVolt 1 is spread over 340 acres of land. Phase 1 of the project, which went live in June 2024, powers 30% of CtrlS Mumbai Datacenter Campus with solar energy, to be further scaled to 60% with the completion of Phase 2, adding another 62.5 MWP of solar capacity. Key differentiators CtrlS’ GreenVolt1 solar farm has a geographic advantage. Most solar farms are isolated in remote areas, but this site is located along the Mumbai-Kolkata highway, ensuring seamless connectivity. It’s a rare tabletop land, ensuring optimal utilisation of land area, evenly laid-out solar panels and cost-savings. While most solar farms in India use P-type panels, CtrlS GreenVolt 1 uses advanced N-type panels, the most efficient solar panels, delivering more energy with reduced land requirements and ensuring high efficiency in energy production. In phase 1, the company has installed 107,912 solar panels. CtrlS is on a mission to build over 1GW of solar capacity by 2030, which will power the company’s data centre footprint of over 1,000MW by 2030.

Riello UPS set for Data Centre World 2025

Critical power protection specialist, Riello UPS, is set to showcase its comprehensive range of data centre products and innovations at the industry’s largest trade event of the year. The uninterruptible power supply manufacturer is once again exhibiting at Data Centre World, which returns to ExCeL London on 12-13 March. Members of the Riello UPS team will be on hand at stand DC340 throughout the two-day event to showcase demo versions of several of its data centre UPS ranges, including the modular Multi Power and Multi Power2, the evolution of its modular offering capable of ultra-high efficiency of up to 98.1%. They will also be on hand to outline the business’s range of UPS maintenance plans, comprehensive data centre UPS design and consultancy services, and a growing library of certified CPD content for data centre consultants and engineers. Data Centre World is recognised as the largest global gathering of data centre professionals, and this year’s event is once again staged as part of the wider Tech Show London, giving attendees the opportunity to explore four other co-hosted events (Cloud Expo Europe, DevOps Live, Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, and Big Data & AI World). DCW 2025 will host more than 300 exhibitors from across the industry, along with a packed conference programme featuring over 200 hours of seminars, discussions, and speakers. Key themes for this year’s show include: • Redefining Data Centres: Sustainability, Resiliency, and Tech Innovation• Navigating the Regulation Landscape• Protecting the Data Centre: Security in the Modern World• Modernising Data Centre Infrastructures: Edge, Colocation, Hyperscales• The Impact of AI on Data Centres• Cultivating a People-Focused Data Centre Workforce Culture• Financing Data Centres: The Investor’s Perspective. Leo Craig, Managing Director of Riello UPS, comments, “Data Centre World is always our most anticipated show of the year and we can’t wait to showcase our proven range of data centre solutions again at the ExCeL. “This year’s event is the first since our successful completion of the company merger, bringing together all the wholly owned UK subsidiaries of Riello UPS under one strong, unified brand. We’re looking forward to showing how integrating these strengths, expertise, and resources into a single entity will enable us to provide enhanced product and service offering, along with expanded customer support.” For more from Riello UPS, click here.