Operations

Verne strikes deal with Nebius to expand Europe’s AI capacity

Verne, a provider of sustainably powered HPC data centres across the Nordics, has announced that Nebius, a global AI infrastructure provider, will be colocating a cluster of NVIDIA H200 GPUs at Verne’s data centre campus in Iceland. This collaboration marks the largest single implementation in Verne's history in Iceland, with Nebius deploying a 10MW cluster. This installation is part of Nebius’ ambitious build-out of AI infrastructure across the US and Europe, supporting its mission to provide scalable, energy-efficient technologies for intensive AI workloads. As one of Europe’s leading providers of GPU capacity, Nebius selected Verne for its expertise, renewable energy-driven operations, and ability to meet precise technical and geographical requirements. Verne’s Icelandic facility, uniquely located on a former NATO base and powered entirely by Iceland’s 100% renewable hydroelectric and geothermal energy resources, aligns perfectly with Nebius’ approach to adopting sustainability principles in its infrastructure while delivering top-tier performance. “Alongside Verne’s scalable infrastructure and Iceland’s renewable energy resources, our shared understanding of NVIDIA architecture provides the perfect foundation for Nebius to scale its full-stack AI infrastructure and cloud services,” says Dominic Ward, CEO, Verne. “This partnership with Nebius underscores our ability to provide sustainable data centre services quickly and at scale across the Nordics, supporting the AI industry's rapid growth while minimising its environmental impact.” “Partnering with Verne has been a natural choice,” adds Andrey Korolenko, Co-Founder and Chief Product and Infrastructure Officer at Nebius. “Their technical expertise and ease and flexibility in meeting our deployment needs allow us to bring our AI-centric solutions to market quickly and sustainably. This collaboration is an important addition to our capacity as we continue building out our full-stack AI-native infrastructure to meet the demands of AI builders and businesses globally.” For more from Verne, click here.

Johnson Controls launches air-cooled chillers in Europe

Johnson Controls, an expert in smart, safe, healthy and sustainable buildings, has expanded the availability of its YORK range of YVAM air-cooled magnetic bearing chillers to Europe to meet the growing demand in the data centre industry. As the European data centre market experiences significant growth driven by AI and cloud computing, the YVAM is a crucial thermal management technology for hyperscale and colocation facilities, Johnson Controls tells us. Designed to accelerate deployment with an innovative, scalable and consistent platform, the YVAM also plays a role in ensuring compliance with the new European Union policy on energy efficiency and water conservation. "As data storage demand rises and chip density increases, data centres face increasing challenges with cooling technologies, including broader temperature ranges, reduced energy and water use, noise reduction and limited space," says Johnson Controls President of Data Centre Solutions, Todd Grabowski. "At Johnson Controls, we work with our customers to offer solutions that enable data centres to scale rapidly, operate efficiently, minimise resource use and maintain reliability in a quickly changing landscape." The YORK YVAM chiller consumes 40% less power annually while still delivering the same cooling capacity as other available products. In addition, YVAM offers the widest operating range, allowing for chiller operation from -29°C up to +55°C ambient temperature while producing chilled water temperatures between +15°C up to 30°C. This allows complete flexibility to use the same cooling infrastructure regardless of the cooling technology ranging from cold air aisles to immersion cooling or direct liquid cooling. Further features and benefits include: • Operates with zero water use on site, supporting the growing importance of water usage effectiveness (WUE) and the conservation of water.• Utilises ultra-low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerant.• Leverages Johnson Controls proprietary magnetic-bearing technology, variable-speed drives and active front-end technology to maximise efficiency while eliminating the need for free cooling coils.• Produces notably less sound than screw chillers, operating at just 65 dBA at 10 metres - equivalent to the noise level of background music at a restaurant.• The lubrication-free design further simplifies the system by eliminating complex subsystems and reducing maintenance costs.• To ensure uninterrupted operations, the YVAM incorporates Quick Start technology with an integral emergency power management system, enabling the chiller to return to full load in as little as three minutes after a power interruption.• The YVAM is designed in-house and built using flagship York technologies.• It's designed to be a flexible platform that allows for easy inspection and service. "With its innovative design and industry-leading efficiency, YVAM is set to redefine thermal management in data centres across the region,” Todd continues. “We’ve already seen great success for this technology in the North American market and we’re excited to partner with our European customers as the AI and data centre demand rapidly develops.” Johnson Controls offers a wide range of air-cooled and water-cooled chillers as well as air handling units, all designed to meet the needs of hyperscale and colocation customers. These products are supported by a comprehensive suite of fire, safety, building automation and digitally connected services. In June 2024, Johnson Controls launched a dedicated Global Data Centre Solutions organisation to address the industry's rapid growth. Since then, the company has boosted capacity in key regions to meet market demand and reduce lead times. This specialised organisation allows Johnson Controls to provide consistent, high-quality, centralised solutions across the globe, while also adapting to the unique needs of North America, EMEA and APAC, ensuring smooth and reliable support for data centre operators worldwide. For more from Johnson Controls, click here.

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres accelerates AI ambitions

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, a data centre colocation service provider headquartered in Singapore, has announced that it is now an NVIDIA colocation partner. Two of its data centre facilities in Southeast Asia (SEA) – STT Singapore 6 and STT Bangkok 1 – have achieved certification in the NVIDIA DGX-Ready Data Center programme. These are the first facilities in STT GDC's portfolio to achieve this certification. The NVIDIA DGX platform is purpose-built for enterprise AI, powering AI workloads spanning analytics, training, and inference. It offers advanced compute density, performance and scale with a single, unified system that can power the complete enterprise AI lifecycle. The NVIDIA DGX-Ready Data Center certification enables STT GDC to offer its customers access to state-of-the-art data centre facilities to run their most important AI workloads. STT GDC is among the first Singapore-headquartered companies to achieve this certification, recognising its continued focus on supporting the global growth ambitions of businesses as they transition from the digital era to the intelligent era. This is driven by accelerated computing, a key driver of AI innovation, and by STT GDC's ability to support advanced AI capabilities and next-generation infrastructure, such as NVIDIA DGX GB200 systems. STT GDC's AI-ready data centres are designed to accommodate the thermal demands of such cutting-edge technology, with support for both immersion cooling and direct-to-chip cooling technologies. Daniel Pointon, Group Chief Technology Officer, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, comments, "The DGX-Ready Data Center certification helps ensure that our customers have access to the robust infrastructure and expertise required to deploy and scale high-performance AI workloads. Achieving this certification underscores our commitment to supporting the rapid growth of AI adoption across industries, helping our customers focus on innovation, accelerate their AI initiatives with confidence and achieve a quicker time-to-value for their AI investments." Tony Paikeday, Senior Director of AI systems at NVIDIA, adds, "As organisations embrace AI to enhance customer experiences and drive better business outcomes, robust environments that are optimised for AI infrastructure become critical. STT GDC's achievement of the NVIDIA DGX-Ready Data Center certification empowers enterprises in South East Asia to simplify their AI initiatives with optimised, high-performance infrastructure and facilities that enable the delivery of data-fuelled insights sooner." AI continues to transform industries globally, driving innovation in everything from predictive analytics to autonomous systems. Worldwide spending on AI is expected to more than double by 2028, reaching $632 billion. AI has the potential to fundamentally disrupt global markets by innovating new business models and offerings, and strategic investments in AI will be necessary to enable businesses to both unlock competitive advantage and maximise the full potential of AI. For more from ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, click here.

New data centre in Abu Dhabi's Yas Island enters service

Pure Data Centres has revealed that its new campus in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island has become operational, with the first data hall complete and handed over to the hyperscale technology customer on time and to plan. The site, which will provide 45MW of capability overall, is Pure DC’s first venture in the Middle East. The construction milestone, which was achieved in partnership with Laing O’Rourke on 27 February, followed successful completion of systems testing on 24 February. Achieving operational status, following successful systems testing, was the first major milestone set for the project. This paves the way for the Laing O’Rourke team to focus on the next phase, which is completion of the central office building in May. Pure DC, which is backed by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, develops and operates data centres for some of the world’s largest technology companies. Each project is designed with security, quality, sustainability and health and safety at its core, with a focus on early engagement and collaboration with its construction partner. The Abu Dhabi project is a collaboration with Laing O’Rourke’s highly experienced multi-disciplinary data centre teams who work across multiple campuses globally, with the majority of projects delivered for repeat clients. Pure Data Centre’s Chief Delivery Officer, Jim McCarthy, says, “The opening of our Abu Dhabi campus is an important moment in the growth of Pure DC and also for our customers in the UAE. We chose to work with Laing O’Rourke because of their impressive track record at delivering data centre projects to the highest standard. It has been a fantastic collaboration, with all milestones delivered on time in accordance with the plan. We hope to develop the partnership in future as Pure DC continues to expand in key territories where there is high demand for digital infrastructure.” Laing O’Rourke’s General Manager, Ben Nicol, comments, “This great achievement and milestone further reinforces our position as a leading provider of data centres in this region – a sector where we have developed exceptional expertise. Our aim throughout is to deliver on every single one of our commitments and to further develop the relationship with Pure DC." Laing O’Rourke’s Project Leader, Chris Wilson, adds, “Fantastic work from Team Pure on reaching this important project milestone. The team’s dedication and hard work has been crucial to our success, and I believe that our unique operating model enables us to deliver faster, safer and more efficiently, helping our clients meet the rapidly increasing need for scale and pace. “A special thanks to Pure Data Centres for the seamless collaboration and trust throughout the process – it's been a true partnership. Together, we've achieved something great, and we're excited to continue building on this momentum.” For more from Pure Data Centres, click here.

DOLD introduces advanced rack-level energy monitoring

DOLD Industries, a developer of switchgear products, has introduced the RL9405 Smart Energy Meter, meaning businesses can monitor exact rack-level consumption, pinpoint inefficiencies, optimise workloads, and avoid costly overuse. The company states that colocation customers no longer need to worry about unpredictable energy costs and limited visibility into their power usage, as in colocation environments, where customers are billed based on energy usage, the RL9405 ensures fair and accurate cost allocation - so users only pay for what they use. Designed for seamless integration into the tightest server rack spaces, this ultra-compact 35mm-wide meter delivers real-time, precision energy monitoring without requiring additional infrastructure. With no complex wiring or downtime, deployment across multiple racks is fast and effortless. Beyond preventing unexpected power charges with precise kWh tracking, the RL9405 provides real-time access to critical performance metrics. Users can track historical consumption trends, detect anomalies signalling inefficiencies or potential server failures, and perform preventive maintenance to avoid costly downtime. The RL9405 securely stores energy data even during power outages, ensuring critical insights are never lost. With Modbus TCP/RTU connectivity, it enables remote, real-time tracking, integrating seamlessly with existing monitoring systems to identify and resolve inefficiencies instantly, improving overall operational efficiency. DOLD Industries, an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer, is renowned for its extensive range of over 10,000 switchgear products. Its portfolio includes safety relay modules, safety relays with forcibly guided contacts, electronic enclosures, safety switches, safety guard locks and key transfer systems. The company is dedicated to improved automation and electrical safety, making its switchgear products ideal for engineers worldwide across factory, logistics and process automation, as well as renewable energy sectors. In addition to switchgear, DOLD provides network monitoring solutions for DC, AC and mixed AC/DC systems. Its products are essential for ensuring greater operational safety and system reliability, making them ideal for applications such as load switching, mobile power generation, DC charging stations and e-Mobility.

Colt DCS launches new data centre in Japan

Colt Data Centre Services, a global provider of hyperscale and large enterprise data centre technologies, has announced the launch of its new hyperscale data centre, Inzai 4, in Tokyo, Japan. This expansion is the second site developed under the joint venture between Fidelity Investments and Mitsui & Co, and this latest site reinforces Colt DCS’s commitment to meeting the growing demand for data centre capacity and public cloud services in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. The first phase of the development is complete, with 4.8MW now operational. Once fully built, the site will deliver 20MW, increasing Colt DCS's total capacity in Inzai to 70MW. Inzai 4 is fully pre-let, which highlights the strong demand for Colt DCS’s innovations. The site was developed following Colt DCS’s Global Reference Design (GRD) guidelines. This means incorporating various low embodied carbon principles such as: reducing water waste during the cooling process, installing cooling chillers with low Global Warming Potential (GWP), and building the site structure with minimal steel and concrete usage. Colt DCS was the first provider to launch a hyperscale data centre in the Inzai area in 2011 and has continued to invest in the region, with plans already underway for its Inzai 5 facility. The area's stable bedrock, dense fibre connectivity, efficient rail links, proximity to Tokyo, and supportive local government make it a prime location for data centre expansion. Niclas Sanfridsson, CEO at Colt DCS, says, "The continued growth in digital services has created strong demand for hyperscale data centres in Japan. Inzai 4 is a testament to our commitment to meeting this demand and supporting the digital economy in the Asia-Pacific region. We are proud to contribute to the growth of the local community and remain a trusted partner for our customers worldwide." For more from Colt DCS, click here.

AirTrunk expands with second AI-ready data centre in Johor

Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) hyperscale data centre specialist, AirTrunk, has announced plans to develop its second cloud and AI-ready data centre in Johor, Malaysia. AirTrunk JHB2 will be located in Iskandar Puteri, Johor region. Scalable to over 270MW, JHB2 will support demand from global public cloud and technology companies in the region. The JHB2 announcement follows the opening of AirTrunk’s first data centre in Johor, 150+MW AirTrunk JHB1, in July 2024. Combined, AirTrunk is investing over RM 9.7 billion / A$3.5 billion in Malaysia, providing more than 420MW of IT load. JHB2, strategically located in a major availability zone, provides an end-to-end cross border connectivity strategy for customers and the ability to scale their operations to match demand. The additional capacity will support Malaysia’s fast-growing digital economy and follows the establishment of the landmark Johor-Singapore special economic zone (JS-SEZ). Like JHB1, the new data centre will feature AirTrunk’s state-of-the-art liquid cooling technology for managing the high-density demands of AI and will ensure significant energy savings. JHB2 is designed to meet the highest standards of efficiency and security, with a low design PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of 1.25 and multiple renewable energy options available to customers. To support Johor State Government’s aim to diversify water sources, AirTrunk is scoping treated greywater as a recycled sustainable water supply for its campuses’ operations. Aligned with the Malaysian Government’s focus on National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and increasing opportunities for highly skilled workers, AirTrunk is creating jobs for Malaysians, with above market rate remuneration for AirTrunk employees, 90% local employees and career development opportunities. AirTrunk is also contributing to digital literacy programs and funding STEM education scholarships at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to further support the local community over the long term. Advancing towards its net zero 2030 target, AirTrunk recently announced one of the largest onsite solar deployments for a data centre in Southeast Asia at JHB1, as well as the first renewable energy Virtual Power Purchase Agreement for a data centre for 30MW of renewable energy, under Malaysia’s Corporate Green Power Programme. AirTrunk is working with the leading Malaysian utility company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to connect JHB2 through TNB’s Green Lane Pathway for Data Centres initiative, streamlining high-voltage electricity supply to an accelerated timeframe of 12 months. AirTrunk is also providing land for TNB to build a new substation, adding resilience to the electricity distribution system in the area. This continuing collaboration, which started from an MoU signed in 2023, opens the door for AirTrunk to explore green solutions with TNB in efforts to advance the energy transition in the region. AirTrunk Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Robin Khuda, says, “As Malaysia establishes itself as a digital powerhouse, it is a privilege for AirTrunk to contribute to this growth over the long term and deliver shared benefit for the people of Malaysia. AirTrunk’s data centres serve as essential infrastructure that will help boost productivity and enable new products and services that can drive economic growth. “We are committed to helping realise the potential of cloud and AI in Malaysia and prioritising circularity for the benefit of society and the environment. AirTrunk is supporting local digital literacy and STEM initiatives, driving the energy transition and working to embed a sustainable water supply to make a positive impact.”

Yondr breaks ground on third phase of London campus

Yondr Group, a global developer, owner and operator of hyperscale data centres, has broken ground on the third building of its London data centre campus in Slough. Once completed, the 40MW data centre will bring the total capacity of the London campus to just over 100MW, making it one of the largest in the UK. The ground-breaking brings the site of a derelict paint factory back into commercial use, and the event follows completion of the first 30MW building at the London campus in July last year. An additional 30MW data centre is currently in the construction phase on site. Yondr’s third building on the London campus has been designed to BREEAM ‘Very Good’ standards, to deliver both reliable data capacity and sustainability. The new facility will be energy efficient in line with the company’s sustainability strategy and 2030 target for Scope 1 and 2 carbon neutrality. Solar panels will be installed on the building’s roof and the facility will boast industry-leading power utilisation efficiency (PUE). Plans for the building were developed in close collaboration with Slough Borough Council and the Canal & River Trust, with the goal of realising a building that actively enhances biodiversity and improves the canal side, with a focus on aesthetics and active transport access for local residents.A green wall facing out towards the canal is one of the ways in which aesthetics and sustainability have been integrated into the project, as part of a strategy of blending the building with its surroundings. The green wall has been designed on an independent structure to overcome the technical requirements of the data centre and it will provide both visual and acoustic shielding, in addition to contributing to biodiversity. Yondr’s commitment to sustainability will extend beyond the border of the site for the new data centre, with the planting of trees and shrubs which have been specially selected to be sympathetic to local plant species and wildlife. A new walking and cycle route will contribute to the health and fitness of the local community and help to reduce vehicular traffic by creating a convenient cut-through. In a further step to create a positive impact in the local area, Yondr conducted a community-needs assessment which highlighted challenges children face in accessing outdoor learning opportunities. To help bridge this gap, Yondr has provided funding for six classes from local schools for a day of hands-on learning at the Iver Environment Centre – allowing the children to immerse themselves in biodiversity, conservation, and the importance of protecting the environment. Peter Hill, VP of Design & Construction EMEA at Yondr, comments, “The plans for this third building on our London campus show a clear evolution of our data centre design and delivery capabilities. It demonstrates just how far we have come in embracing sustainability to deliver our carbon neutrality goals and bring forward exemplar data centre developments. “Breaking ground on this project is a milestone not just for this building, but also for our London campus and our increasingly strong presence in Europe. I’d like to thank everyone who has helped progress this project through the design and planning stage, as well as those who have joined us to celebrate today, and I look forward to a smooth construction process and handover next year.” The facility is expected to be completed in mid-2026. For more from Yondr Group, click here.

atNorth joins UN Global Compact

atNorth, the Nordic colocation, high-performance computing, and artificial intelligence service provider, has become a signatory of the United Nations’ Global Compact as part of its ongoing commitment to business sustainability. The UN Global Compact is a voluntary initiative that enables members to align their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world and involves an annual disclosure of responsible business practices. Corporate responsibility is a core part of atNorth’s business ethos, and the company has evidenced this through its strategic Nordic locations, proprietary data centre design, heat reuse programmes and adherence to ISO14001 and ISO 45001 guidelines. These factors allow customers such as BNP Paribas and Shearwater Geoservices to decarbonise their IT workloads. The business has been a strong voice on the topic of the environmental impact of the data centre industry and is a member of several data centre industry associations in addition to the Infrastructure Masons Climate Accord - a coalition united on carbon reduction in digital infrastructure and the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact that is an agreement to make data centres climate neutral by 2030. By joining the UN Global Compact, atNorth will continue to share insight into its sustainability journey as a whole and inspire the data centre industry to not only mitigate its ecological risk, but to strive towards positive and restorative environmental and community impact. “As awareness of the environmental and social impact of digital infrastructure continues to grow, we are committed to raising the bar and leading by example as a responsible business within the data centre industry”, says Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO atNorth. “By actively aligning with the globally recognised UN Global Compact, we will provide a transparent account of our progress across the board”. atNorth recently appointed Cora Olsen, Director of Sustainability, to lead the continuous development and implementation of the business’s sustainability strategy which includes coordinating its alignment and reporting to the UN Global Compact’s principles. Cora comments, “Having recently joined atNorth, I am very impressed by the high level of ambition when it comes to sustainability. Becoming a signatory to the UN Global Compact is an important step forward to demonstrate our commitment to the global sustainability agenda.” For more from atNorth, click here.

Progress Data Cloud platform launched

Progress, a provider of AI-powered digital experiences and infrastructure software, has announced the launch of Progress Data Cloud, a managed Data Platform as a Service designed to simplify enterprise data and artificial intelligence (AI) operations in the cloud. With Progress Data Cloud, customers can accelerate their digital transformation and AI initiatives while reducing operational complexity and IT overhead. As global businesses scale their data operations and embrace AI, a robust cloud data strategy has become the cornerstone of success, enabling organisations to harness the full potential of their data for innovation and growth. Progress Data Cloud meets this critical need by providing a unified, secure and scalable platform to build, manage and deploy data architectures and AI projects without the burden of managing IT infrastructure. “Organisations increasingly recognise that cloud and AI are pivotal to unlocking business value at scale,” says John Ainsworth, GM and EVP, Application and Data Platform, Progress. “Progress Data Cloud empowers companies to achieve this by offering a seamless, end-to-end experience for data and AI operations, removing the barriers of infrastructure complexity while delivering exceptional performance, security and predictability.” Key features and benefits Progress Data Cloud is a Data Platform as a Service that enables managed hosting of feature-complete instances of Progress Semaphore and Progress MarkLogic, with plans to support additional Progress products in the future. Core benefits include: • Simplified operations: Eliminates infrastructure complexity with always-on infrastructure management, monitoring service, continuous security scanning and automated product upgrades.• Cost efficiency: Reduces IT costs and bottlenecks with predictable pricing, resource usage transparency and no egress fees.• Enhanced security: Helps harden security posture with an enterprise-grade security model that is SOC 2 Type 1 compliant.• Scalability and performance: Offers superior availability and reliability, supporting mission-critical business operations, GenAI demands and large-scale analytics.• Streamlined user management: Self-service access controls and tenancy management provide better visibility and customisation. Progress Data Cloud accelerates time to production by offering managed hosting for the Progress MarkLogic Server database and the Progress MarkLogic Data Hub solution with full-feature parity. Customers can benefit from enhanced scalability, security and seamless deployment options. Replacing Semaphore Cloud, Progress Data Cloud provides a next-generation cloud platform with all existing Semaphore functionality plus new features for improved performance, security, reliability, user management and SharePoint Online integration. “As enterprises continue to invest in digital transformation and AI strategies, the need for robust, scalable and secure data platforms becomes increasingly evident,” says Stewart Bond, Vice President, Data Intelligence and Integration Software, IDC. “Progress Data Cloud addresses a critical market need by simplifying data operations and accelerating the development of AI-powered solutions. Its capabilities, from seamless infrastructure management to enterprise-grade security, position it as a compelling choice for organisations looking to unlock the full potential of their data to drive innovation and business value.” Progress Data Cloud is a cloud-based hosting of foundational products that make up the Progress Data Platform portfolio. Progress Data Cloud is now available for existing and new customers of the MarkLogic and Semaphore platforms.