News

United Infrastructure to develop DC grid connection standards

United Infrastructure, a UK contractor delivering utility and social infrastructure across energy, power, water, and telecoms networks, has been asked by industry stakeholders to lead the development of standardised electricity connection archetypes intended to help accelerate grid connections for UK data centres. The initiative follows discussions between industry representatives and Ofgem on improving the speed and consistency of electricity network connections as demand for AI infrastructure and data storage continues to grow. The work will bring together organisations from across the electricity infrastructure supply chain to develop standard designs for data centres, substations, high-voltage compounds, and other common connection arrangements. The aim is to simplify network design, improve delivery efficiency, and support faster grid connections. Industry collaboration on network delivery The announcement follows a roundtable in Cardiff attended by more than 30 senior representatives from the energy, digital infrastructure, development, and utilities sectors. Discussions covered connection reform, supply chain resilience, decentralised energy, workforce capability, planning, and grid capacity. Akshay Kaul, Director General of Infrastructure at Ofgem, says, "The rapid growth in data centres presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the energy system. "It was encouraging to see how technologies like fuel cells could complement the grid, and these insights will be important in shaping a flexible, resilient, and future-ready energy system." Neil Armstrong, CEO of United Infrastructure, comments, "To be asked to lead on such an important piece of work is a real credit to the engineering teams we have within United Infrastructure. As demand for data centres grows, we are seeing unprecedented interest in our gas-to-power solutions. "Being recognised in this way is testament to the work we are doing to accelerate ‘time to power’ for data centres across the UK, many of which are now frequently classed as nationally significant infrastructure." The programme will initially focus on developing connection archetypes for data centres and associated electricity infrastructure. United Infrastructure says the work will be shared with industry stakeholders to help inform future network delivery and regulatory discussions.

euNetworks launches direct Paris–Milan fibre route

euNetworks, a European bandwidth infrastructure company, has launched a new long-haul fibre route between Paris and Milan, providing what the company says is the most direct connectivity path between the two cities. Spanning 1,057km, the route follows a new path through the Alps, offering an alternative to routes that typically run via Lyon and Marseille. The company says the route has been designed to provide a shorter and more diverse connection between two of Europe's major connectivity hubs, whilst also strengthening wider network connectivity across the region. The announcement follows the launch of euNetworks' direct Frankfurt–Milan route via Zurich in October 2025. Together, the two routes provide shorter connectivity options between Frankfurt and Milan. Customers using the new route can connect to euNetworks' metro networks in Paris and Milan, which include 38 and 18 directly connected data centres respectively, as well as the company's wider network of more than 600 connected data centres across Europe. Route expands European network connectivity According to euNetworks, the new infrastructure is intended to support growing demand for low-latency connectivity driven by AI, cloud services, and data-intensive applications. Marisa Trisolino, CEO of euNetworks, says, "The new route between Paris and Milan is a prime example of our dedication to providing customers with the most direct, diverse connectivity options in Europe. As demand for AI, cloud, and data-driven connectivity rises, shorter routes and diversity become increasingly crucial. "Building a diverse route through the Alps takes a lot of persistence and collaboration with an extensive supplier network. euNetworks was proud to take on this challenge to deliver for our customers and we will continue to expand our network wherever our customers need it the most." For more from euNetworks, click here.

Schneider calls for collaboration on London data centres

Global energy technology company Schneider Electric has brought together organisations from across the public and private sectors to discuss the infrastructure challenges facing London's data centre market and the collaboration needed to support future AI growth. Held in partnership with Opportunity London and SEGRO, the roundtable explored how London can maintain its position as Europe's largest data centre hub while addressing growing demand for digital infrastructure. The event, chaired by Laura Citron, Chief Executive of London & Partners, included representatives from government, local authorities, energy companies, data centre operators, real estate, and the wider technology sector. Participants discussed the need for greater coordination around planning, electricity infrastructure, land availability, water use, and emerging technologies such as liquid cooling. The discussions also highlighted the importance of improving understanding of data centre requirements among policymakers as demand for AI and cloud infrastructure continues to grow. The roundtable also examined the role of data centres as critical national infrastructure (CNI) and their contribution to economic growth and AI development. Industry highlights need for coordinated infrastructure planning Matthew Baynes (pictured above), Vice President, Secure Power UK & Ireland at Schneider Electric, says, "Today, there remains a fundamental gap between how policymakers perceive and understand data centres [and] how the industry actually operates. "Decisions around planning, land allocation, and power provision are being made without a complete picture of what's required to meet the AI opportunity, and the UK now risks losing ground to markets where that understanding is far more mature. "As the UK's largest data centre hub, and its default AIGZ, London offers all the advantages needed to lead, but closing the gap between ambition and action is not optional; it is the prerequisite for success." Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive of Opportunity London, adds, "Data centres are no longer a niche; they are foundational to London’s future economic growth, AI ambitions, and global competitiveness." Maria Jose Rivas-Duarte, Director of Sustainability at Pure Data Centres, also says the discussions demonstrated the importance of collaboration between industry, policymakers, and local communities to support responsible digital infrastructure development, while Luisa Cardani, Head of the Data Centres Programme at techUK, notes the UK's data centre sector has significant potential to contribute to economic growth, but that achieving this will require coordinated action between government and industry. For more from Schneider Electric, click here.

Why network resilience now depends on control​

In this exclusive article for DCNN, Ramtin Rampour (pictured above), Principal Solutions Architect at Opengear, explains why independent management access is becoming an essential element of network resilience as data centre environments grow larger, more distributed, and increasingly complex: Building resilience beyond the production network With data centres supporting ever higher-density workloads and users increasingly expecting the services they use to be available at all times, network resilience is a fundamental priority for operators responsible for keeping critical infrastructure running. Resilience is no longer just about whether infrastructure can withstand disruption; it also depends on whether operations teams can retain control when something goes wrong. As data centre environments become more distributed and security-sensitive, the ability to reach critical systems during failure has become central to recovery. In this context, remote access to networks has become critical. When the network fails, recovery can only begin if teams can still reach the systems they need to fix. A loss of connectivity is no longer only a traffic problem; it can restrict visibility, delay remediation, and leave data centre network teams dependent on the same production environment that is already degraded. For data centre network teams, resilience now depends not only on network availability, but on maintaining a reliable management path when the production network is degraded or unavailable. Redundant links and resilient hardware still have a place in delivering this. However, they cannot guarantee recovery on their own. Teams also need a trusted route into critical infrastructure when the production network is misconfigured, compromised, or unavailable. Without it, a familiar fault that should be routine to resolve can become a prolonged recovery exercise. The control gap This need for control is becoming more urgent as data centre environments grow increasingly complex. Preventing outages remains a strategic priority for owners and operators, even as infrastructure equipment improves. At the same time, modern architectures and external threats continue to introduce risks that must be actively managed. For network teams, the takeaway is clear: component reliability alone does not ensure resilience. Effective recovery planning must also address dependency chains, change-related errors, and potential loss of access. Those dependencies are increasing with AI environments placing heavier demand on traffic inside high-density infrastructure. Edge sites often sit far from specialist engineering teams, whilst hybrid operating models extend the network across owned and hosted environments. Each can lengthen recovery if teams have no independent management path. During an incident, the gap appears at console level. An engineer may understand which change caused the issue, which device needs attention, or which segment should be isolated, but still have no reliable way to act. No amount of bandwidth helps if management access depends on the failed route. This gap is exactly what out-of-band management is designed to address. By providing a dedicated, physically separate network path, it gives operators direct console-level and IP access to critical infrastructure, independent of the production network they may need to repair. Skills, security, and scale Workforce pressure is another factor widening the control gap. In the 2025 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, only 55% of respondents agreed their organisations have the resources needed to address security incidents over the next two to three years. For data centre operators, that shortage has direct consequences. When incidents occur, recovery often depends on the same network teams that manage access and infrastructure availability. If those teams are stretched, site visits take longer and recovery becomes harder to coordinate. Stretched data centre network teams need fewer site visits and more repeatable processes. Automation is valuable but it is not a substitute for reachability. A workflow cannot reboot, reconfigure, or isolate a device it cannot access. For large estates, the access model has to be designed before the recovery process can be trusted. Security adds another constraint. Palo Alto Networks’ 2026 Unit 42 Global Incident Response Report found that identity weaknesses played a material role in almost 90% of investigations, whilst 87% of intrusions involved activity across multiple attack surfaces, including networks. For data centre operators, this is a network resilience issue as much as a security one. When disruption occurs, teams still need a trusted way to reach routers, switches, firewalls, and other critical devices, but that access cannot rely on the same production network that may be degraded or exposed to attacker movement. During a cyberattack, management access has to be both available and governed. Speed without strong authentication creates risk. Tight controls with no practical route into the infrastructure slow recovery. Operators need a path that sits outside production traffic, with clear permissions and logs that stand up to audit. Future-proofing through independent access Future-proofing data centre networks should start with control under imperfect conditions. An independent management plane separates the route used to control infrastructure from the route carrying production traffic. When the main network is down or untrusted, it allows teams to inspect devices, roll back changes, isolate segments, and verify service health remotely. The aim is not to prevent every failure; it is to prevent failures from removing the operator’s ability to respond. This capability is valuable from the outset. New infrastructure often needs to be built and secured before normal production connectivity is ready. In edge or remote sites, local intervention can be slow and expensive. In this context, a separate management path allows teams to bring equipment online, test configurations, and reduce dependence on physical access. Once infrastructure is live, the same path can support daily resilience. Network operations teams can intervene earlier when device health deteriorates and recover services without depending on unstable systems. Against this backdrop, resilience becomes less about emergency improvisation and more about disciplined control built into network operations. Data centre networks will always face disruption from misconfiguration, cyber threats, equipment faults, and external events. For operators, resilience depends on whether they can retain control when those disruptions occur. As data centre estates become larger, more distributed, and harder to secure, resilience will depend on a trusted path back into the infrastructure, whether teams are managing a core facility, an edge site, or hosted environments. That control helps teams recover faster and keep critical services always running. For more from Opengear, click here.

Kaytus launches all-QLC flash storage solution

Kaytus, a manufacturer of servers, storage systems, and data centre infrastructure hardware, has unveiled its All-QLC Flash Storage Solution at AI EXPO KOREA 2026, a platform engineered for ultra-large-scale AI training across clusters of 10,000-plus GPUs. As model sizes and agentic-AI workloads surge, Kaytus argues that the real bottleneck in modern AI infrastructure is no longer raw compute, but the storage layer feeding data to accelerators fast enough to keep them fully utilised. Built on an all-QLC flash architecture, the solution is designed to deliver the sustained throughput and high-density capacity that hyperscale AI clusters demand - reducing GPU idle time and improving overall training efficiency. Purpose-built for over 10,000 GPU clusters, the new architecture targets storage - not compute - as the decisive constraint on AI scale. The launch signals a broader shift in AI-era infrastructure priorities, placing high-performance storage at the centre of the conversation around scaling AI.

Verne agrees Arcus acquisition of Volta Data Centres

Arcus Infrastructure Partners, a London-based specialist infrastructure fund manager, has entered into an agreement to acquire Volta Data Centres from data centre provider Verne, adding a 6MW carrier-neutral colocation facility in central London to its digital infrastructure portfolio. The transaction, expected to complete in July 2026, will see Arcus acquire 100% of Volta Data Centres, which is currently operated as Verne's UK data centre. The facility provides colocation and interconnection services to customers in the financial services, telecommunications, IT, and enterprise sectors. Located near the City of London, the site offers 6MW of capacity and features connectivity through more than 40 on-site carriers and over 1,200 cross-connects. Acquisition strengthens UK data centre presence The acquisition expands Arcus's presence in the colocation market, building on its existing investment in Portus Data Centres. According to the company, the UK market was identified as offering strong long-term potential due to growing demand and constrained supply. Charlie Scott, Senior Investment Director at Arcus, comments, "Volta is an excellent fit with our AEIF4 investment strategy, providing critical digital infrastructure at the heart of one of Europe's premier colocation markets. "The business stood out as a high-quality investment combining stable contracted revenues, an entrenched position in London's connectivity ecosystem, and a clear pathway for growth and commercial improvements, supported by an experienced site team. "Colocation has been a strategic focus for Arcus since 2024. We look forward to partnering with the Volta team to support the next phase of the business's growth and building on this entry point with further acquisitions." For Verne, the sale forms part of a broader strategy to focus investment on low-carbon, high-density data centre infrastructure across Northern Europe. Dominic Ward (pictured above), CEO of Verne, suggests, "This agreement is the right next step for the London data centre, its customers, and its team. Arcus has deep infrastructure experience and is well placed to support the site's next phase of growth. "For Verne, this is a strategic portfolio decision that allows us to focus our investment and expertise on low-carbon, high-density data centre infrastructure in the locations best suited to AI, high-performance computing, and other demanding workloads. We will work closely with Arcus to support a smooth transition." The transaction remains subject to the fulfilment of contractual requirements and is expected to complete during July 2026. For more from Verne, click here.

Aston Martin launches AMR Network at technology forum

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team has launched the AMR Network, a new platform designed to bring together its technology partners to collaborate on innovation, artificial intelligence, and advanced computing. The initiative was unveiled during the inaugural AMR Technology Forum at the team's AMR Technology Campus in Silverstone on 3 July 2026, ahead of the British Grand Prix, with Data Centre & Network News (DCNN) amongst the media in attendance. Senior representatives from technology partners including CoreWeave, Zscaler, Cohere, ServiceNow, Cognizant, Cognition, NetApp, Xerox, Arm, and Eight Sleep took part in panel discussions and media roundtables examining the growing role of AI, machine learning, and high-performance computing in Formula One (F1) and other industries. For the data centre sector, the event highlighted the increasing importance of digital infrastructure in supporting AI development, engineering simulations, data processing, and performance analysis. Discussions also explored how technologies developed for F1 are influencing wider enterprise computing and digital infrastructure strategies. The forum also featured Aston Martin Aramco's STEM Racing programme, with students attending a panel discussion focused on careers in motorsport and technology. AI infrastructure underpins F1 innovation As Formula One teams continue to increase their use of AI and data-driven engineering, the demands placed on cloud platforms, high-performance computing, cyber security, storage infrastructure, and networking continue to grow. The event demonstrated how collaboration between specialist technology providers is becoming increasingly important in supporting these workloads both at the track and within engineering facilities. Jefferson Slack, Managing Director, Commercial at Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, says, "Formula One has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, but the pace of change we are seeing through artificial intelligence and advanced computing is unlike anything the sport has experienced before. "We're proud to welcome all our technology partners to the AMRTC for our first Technology Forum. Together, these organisations represent an extraordinary collection of expertise across AI, data, cloud computing, enterprise technology, security, and human performance. "The AMR Network enables us to continue those conversations throughout the season, creating meaningful opportunities for collaboration and thought leadership across our partner portfolio." The AMR Network forms part of a wider programme of events and industry discussions intended to encourage collaboration between Aston Martin Aramco and its technology partners throughout the F1 season.

Equinix, A2A to heat Milan via district heating

Equinix, a US global data centre and interconnection services provider, and A2A, Italy’s second-largest energy operator, have announced a partnership to recover waste heat from a data centre campus near Milan and use it to supply the city's district heating network. The project will recover heat generated by servers at Equinix's campus in Settimo Milanese and transfer it to a new energy centre developed by A2A. The recovered heat will then be used to provide heating across parts of Milan. Equinix will design and manage the system used to export heat from the campus, working with customers whose IT equipment generates the thermal energy. A2A's new energy centre will use four large-scale heat pumps with a combined capacity of 72MW, together with two thermal storage systems capable of storing 6,000m³ of water. The facility will connect to Milan's district heating network via dedicated heat transport infrastructure. Once fully operational, the project is expected to recover up to 225GWh of thermal energy each year. According to the companies, this will increase the amount of heat distributed through A2A's district heating network by around 20%, providing enough energy to heat more than 21,000 homes. The partners also estimate the scheme will avoid more than 345,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. Heat recovery supports district heating expansion As part of the project, A2A will expand Milan's district heating network, enabling recovered heat from the data centre to be supplied across a wider area of the city, including the Duomo and Palazzo Reale, which are already connected to the network. Adaire Fox-Martin, CEO and President of Equinix, comments, "Equinix has a long and proud history of aligning the needs of our business with the needs of the communities we call home. "Our collaboration with A2A is a clear example of how essential digital infrastructure and local sustainability goals can work in service of each other. By putting thermal energy from our operations to use for local homes and residents, we're eliminating waste and moving Milan towards a low-carbon future." Emanuela Grandi, Managing Director of Equinix Italy, adds, "Excess heat is a by-product of the processing power required for digital transformation and AI, but when we redistribute it to the areas surrounding our data centres, we can create tremendous value for our communities while reducing the overall energy needed to heat the area. "We are very proud of the efforts and achievements Equinix has done in blazing a trail for data centre heat export in Europe and we're applying learnings from our successes to our efforts in Italy. "By scale, this initiative in Italy is expected to become among the largest data centre heat export projects in Europe outside the Nordics." Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of A2A, concludes, "Data centres are strategic infrastructure for the competitiveness of the country and for supporting the digital transformation of the economy. "Their growth requires models capable of combining technological innovation, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability. From this perspective, heat recovery is a key lever for maximising the value of digital hubs and accelerating the decarbonisation of cities. "The collaboration with Equinix is fully aligned with our strategy to develop an integrated ecosystem where energy, infrastructure, and innovation operate synergistically." The companies say the partnership forms part of wider efforts to support the decarbonisation of urban energy systems through the reuse of waste heat generated by digital infrastructure. For more from Equinix, click here.

DCNN reports from Johnson Controls' 'Innovation Studio'

Johnson Controls, a global provider of smart building technologies, brought its travelling Innovation Studio to London between 23 and 26 June, one stop on a 44-city tour taking the company's building technologies portfolio directly to customers, partners, and media across Europe. DCNN was invited along to step inside the mobile showcase and sit down with John Foley, General Manager, North West Europe at Johnson Controls, whose day job involves leading the company's HVAC team, but whose knowledge stretches across every industry the business serves. The Innovation Studio itself is the physical expression of an idea Johnson Controls has been mulling for some time: how do you take the collective expertise scattered across the business's European operations and put it in front of every market at once? John told us, "All of this information, intellectual property, and, more importantly, the experts that come with it are so diffused all around Europe." The tour, he explains, grew out of conversations between the company's EMEA marketing leadership about how to concentrate that firepower and take it on the road. It is, by his own admission, a fairly bold departure for a company of Johnson Controls' size, but the early results have surprised even the team behind it. "The engagement with our customers so far has been unbelievable," he continued, adding that appetite has varied (sometimes counterintuitively) from city to city, but has been strong across the board. Three pillars, one thermal chain To understand why a HVAC and controls business is investing so heavily in this kind of outreach now, John points to a set of strategic priorities set out by Johnson Controls' chief executive in November 2025: decarbonising the existing built environment, winning in critical environments such as pharmaceutical and biologics production, and enabling what he calls "the future AI economy". It is that third pillar that explains the data centre focus of the London leg. Johnson Controls has served data centres in one form or another for decades, spanning fire and security, heating and cooling, and building automation. What has changed, John says, is the scale of capital and engineering attention now being directed at the sector as a result of AI-driven growth. The company's pitch to the market has also shifted. "Our right to win in a data centre, it's not just about cooling; it's actually about our ability to own and also command the entire thermal management chain," he suggested. That means everything from extracting heat at the chip via liquid cooling plates, through rejection and plant-level cooling, all orchestrated through building automation systems. Heat that does not go to waste One strand of the conversation that stood out was waste heat reuse, an area in which John argues Johnson Controls' combined HVACR capability (he is careful to stress the "R" for refrigeration) gives it an edge over cooling specialists. The company's heat pumps, manufactured at its Sabroe facility in Aarhus, Denmark, are already being used across parts of Europe to funnel heat recovered from data centres into district heating networks serving tens of thousands of homes, a practice some Scandinavian countries now effectively mandate for new data centre developments. John, who lived in Norway for four years, is candid that the UK lags behind on this front. "It's quite frustrating… it's embarrassing," he remarked, though adding that he also sees plenty of opportunity ahead as the conversation matures. What was on show That thermal chain philosophy was reflected in the technology on display inside the studio. On the digital side, OpenBlue, Johnson Controls' AI-powered smart building platform, was positioned as the connective layer tying data, insight, and outcomes together across a building's systems, built on the Metasys building automation and controls backbone, alongside the EasyIO Neo controller range and the Webeasy front end. On the mechanical side, the YORK YVAM air-cooled magnetic bearing chiller was a centrepiece, aimed squarely at hyperscale and colocation cooling loads and built to run efficiently across a wide ambient range without relying on free-cooling coils, alongside the YCPB heat pump range for lower-carbon heating and cooling. Representing the industrial refrigeration side of the business, the Sabroe DualPAC combines the company's ChillPAC and HeatPAC units into a single modular heat pump, aimed at applications needing both cooling and high-temperature heat output efficiently. Bringing it to the UK Wrapping up, John returned to the purpose of the tour itself: getting Johnson Controls' engineers and technology in front of customers who might otherwise only encounter the brand through a single product line. Given the scale of change facing UK data centre operators, from AI-driven density increases to mounting pressure on energy and water use, it is a conversation that feels timely, and one that DCNN expects to keep returning to as the Innovation Studio continues its European run. For more from Johnson Controls, click here.

EUDCA reaffirms sustainability commitment

The European Data Centre Association (EUDCA), the representative body of the European data centre community, has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting climate-neutral data centres and the sustainable growth of Europe's digital infrastructure. The organisation says it remains focused on developing a digital economy that balances increasing demand for digital services with environmental sustainability and closer integration with Europe's energy system. Founded in 2012, the EUDCA works with the data centre industry, policymakers, and other stakeholders to support the development of Europe's digital infrastructure. As a co-founder of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, the association has committed to helping the sector achieve climate neutrality by 2030. This includes improving energy efficiency, increasing the use of renewable energy, reducing water consumption, supporting circular economy initiatives, and encouraging the reuse of waste heat. Over recent years, the EUDCA has worked with the European Commission and industry partners on policies intended to support both digital infrastructure growth and environmental objectives. Energy integration and grid capacity On 3 June 2026, the EUDCA joined the European Commission, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, and organisations from across the energy sector in signing a Declaration of Intent to support the sustainable integration of data centres into the European energy system. The declaration highlights the need for reliable low-carbon electricity, closer collaboration between data centre operators, grid operators, and public authorities, and a stable regulatory environment to support future investment. The association also says that expanding Europe's digital infrastructure will depend on addressing wider challenges within the electricity system, including reinforcing transmission and distribution networks, streamlining planning and permitting processes, and improving access to low-carbon electricity. Michael Winterson, Secretary General of the EUDCA, comments, "We reaffirm our commitment to sustainability, irrespective of technological developments or changing demands. A liveable, equitable, and sustainable future remains our utmost goal." The EUDCA's annual State of European Data Centres report also tracks the sector's sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance using member data and information collected under the European Energy Efficiency Directive. For more from the EUDCA, click here.