With an initial capacity of 250MW the site will have a path to power of several hundred MW, implementing heat reuse to heat large scale greenhouses, local housing and opportunities for sustainable power production.
atNorth, the leading Nordic colocation, high-performance computing, and artificial intelligence service provider, has announced plans to build its largest data center to date in the town of Ølgod in Varde Denmark. The site, to be known as DEN02, will cater to both colocation and build-to-suit projects and will be specifically designed for data-intensive businesses such as hyperscalers and companies that run AI and High-Performance Computing workloads.
The DEN02 campus is a 174-hectare greenfield site located 40km west of Billund Airport and will have an initial capacity of 250MW with a path to power of several hundred megawatts. DEN02 will be built in line with demand as part of atNorth’s modular approach to data center construction. The site’s location is advantageous due to its excellent connectivity resulting from the many trans-Atlantic fiber cables that have landing stations on the nearby west coast of the country.
“Our DEN02 site is truly a blueprint for future data centers,” commented atNorth’s CEO, Eyjolfur Magnus Kristinsson. “The highly energy efficient design, including its state-of-the-art heat reuse technologies, coupled with the advantageous location in Denmark and our dedication to sustainability, exemplifies innovation in our industry. It will be an ideal location for hyperscalers and AI businesses looking to decarbonize their high-performance workloads.”
As part of its overall expansion strategy, atNorth is committed to including circular economy principles as a core component and as such, has already signed a collaborative agreement with Wa3rm – a leader in the development of circular and bio-based operations for waste streams. The partnership will enable the recycling of excess heat from the new campus for use in large scale greenhouses for vegetable production. The site will also be equipped to provide heating and hot water for local communities via the district heating supplier.
“We are delighted to partner with atNorth in a shared commitment to a circular economy,” says Jacques Ejlerskov, CEO at Wa3rm. “State-of-the-art data centers such as DEN02 have the ability to significantly contribute to increased circularity through re-use of resources such as excess heat, and with atNorth we have found a partner that shares our vision of ‘bringing waste to life’.”
Additionally, atNorth is pursuing the possibility of attracting sustainable power production in the form of wind and solar energy farms around the DEN02 site. Denmark is known for its ambitious renewable energy strategy, aiming to be a low-carbon society independent of fossil fuels by 2050. In 2022, the share of renewables in domestic electricity supply grew to a record 81.4%, according to statistics from the Danish Energy Agency.
Vanessa Vega Saenz, Director of Invest in Denmark, commented, “Denmark presents an opportunity for businesses to flourish with its collaborative community that supports innovation, attracts talent, and fosters a sustainable growth mindset. With its strong focus on sector integration atNorth can play a key role in the further development of sustainable hyperscale datacenters.”
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