atNorth - previously Advania Data Centers – this week began construction work on a new $72 million climate-positive data center in Stockholm, Sweden. The complex will have an IT load of 11.2 MW and generate excess heat that Stockholm Exergi will use to heat local homes.
atNorth will construct the 6,400 sqm data center in seven steps. The first phase is scheduled to be operational in December 2021. The data center, called Stockholm SWE01: SIF DC, will offer racks that can host up to 40kW air cooled infrastructure and over 100kW for liquid cooled infrastructure to meet the growing demand for large scale computing. The facility will provide high-density data center space and atNorth's flagship AI and high-performance computing Infrastructure as a Service, HPC|FLOW.
"For atNorth, this SIF DC is a landmark project, as we are expanding beyond Iceland. Our goal is to become a world leader in high-performance computing and colocation services," atNorth's CEO Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson said.
"We are excited to bring more compute power and services to our ambitious customers. It means they can reduce cost, bring products to market faster than before and solve even more complicated problems," Kristinsson added.
Heat created by servers not wasted but used for local house heating
In all operations, atNorth is eager to minimize its environmental footprint. Hence, climate-positive solutions are at the forefront when developing green- and brownfield projects. The concept of using excess heat created by the data center's IT load for local house-heating fits perfectly with atNorth's eco-vision.
"By collaborating with a leading energy provider in the area - Stockholm Exergi – the heat created by servers in our data center is not wasted but utilized in a supply chain that increases energy efficiency for the whole society and reduces wasteful energy usage," CEO Kristinsson said when asked about the partnership.
A stronger competitive position breeds improved customer service
The new data center is in Stockholm's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) district in Kista, the second-largest ICT cluster in the world following Silicon Valley. The location provides secure access to robust technical infrastructure and brings atNorth to the core of Europe's technological innovation. The data center will be certified with ISO 27001, like all existing data center facilities that atNorth operates and owns. It will be atNorth's first facility outside Iceland
Photo: CEO Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson
