After a few months of planning and preparatory works, the European consortium broke ground and started the construction works of building the prototype of one of the world’s most efficient data centres.
The project funded by EU’s innovation and research programme Horizon 2020, kicked-off in October 2017. The prototype facility will accomodate 500kW of IT load and is expected to be up and running by the end of the year.
The so called ’Boden Type Data Centre One’, is an experimental lab and demonstration site that combines technologies innovatively. The aim is to test and validate feasibility and usability of a highly energy efficient, environmental friendly prototype in real operation.
Workload balancing, airflow effiency and modularity are in the focus of consortium members: data centre engineering specialist H1 Systems, cooling manufacturer EcoCooling, research institutes Fraunhofer IOSB and SICS RISE North as well as data centre site developers Boden Business Agency. The operational measurement and design optimisation of the data centre will provide templated information and analysis for facilities looking to redeploy the solution in their chosen location.
Northern Sweden’s data centre hub Boden will be home to the 36 months research project that has a budget of approximately 3 million EUR. Construction works started with groundworks and connection of the utilities. The wooden structured Boden Type DC One will be installed by November 2018 and will be populated with IT equipment at the end of the year. For those that are willing to take part in the research experiment, limited colocation space is available.
”It is nice to see yet another facility emerging in our data center park. This research project will certainly add great value to data center efficiencies in the Nordics and the rest of Europe,” says Nils Lindh, director of data centre development, Boden Business Agency
”The project is giving us a unique opportunity look at how we can optimise the installation, operation and maintenance of our cooling systems by using a mix of analysis and technologies to improve efficiency for the industry,” said Alan Beresford, managing director, EcoCooling
”H1 Systems has 25 years of experience in building high availability, mission critical facilities. This highly ambitious project is a unique opportunity for us to demonstrate our skills and expertise. The scientific results of the two research institutes, the innovations coming from our business partners and the support of the local authorities ensure the succesfull development of the envisoned Prototype,” added Róbert Varga, project manager, H1 Systems.
