E N D- U S E R I N S I G H T attractive destination for sustainable data centre development.
Norway, data centre partnerships and AI
Against this backdrop, partnerships are becoming increasingly critical in expanding the ecosystem and furthering compute-power for the Nordic region.
Polar, a burgeoning force in the data centre sector, recently made headlines with the announcement of a strategic partnership with Vertiv, as the primary supplier for Polar’ s inaugural modular, AIready data centre in Norway.
The project aims to establish an industryleading infrastructure platform capable of supporting the most demanding AI workloads. Powered entirely by hydroelectric energy, the facility is meticulously designed to minimise its carbon footprint, directly addressing the pressing need for sustainable computing.
Furthermore, it is engineered to accommodate ultra-high-density, liquidcooled environments, boasting capacities of up to 120kW per rack – a testament to the sheer computational power required by modern AI.
The Vertiv solution itself is designed with N + 1 redundancy across both electrical and thermal systems, ensuring the critical resilience and reliability necessary for uninterrupted AI and accelerated computing operations.
Project in brief
AI-Ready solution: Vertiv is providing Polar with a fully equipped, prefabricated modular( PFM) data centre solution, handling everything from design to installation.
Scalable opwer: The initial setup supports a 12 MW IT load, with the flexibility to expand significantly up to 50 MW to meet future AI demands.
Efficient power and cooling: The solution includes Vertiv’ s EXL S1 UPS for variable AI loads and Liebert AFC chillers using low-GWP refrigerant, cutting carbon emissions and saving up to 20 % on energy compared to older systems.
Environmental focus: The advanced cooling and power systems are specifically designed to significantly reduce the data centre’ s environmental impact.
Imminent launch: The first phase goes live in late 2025, marking the start of Polar’ s ambitious plan to set new standards for AIready data centres across Europe.
Interview: Polar’ s CEO, Andy Hayes talks AI and sustainable tech
Polar’ s mission is to create an environmentally responsible AI infrastructure platform. Tell us more about that.
At Polar we place great emphasis on partnerships when developing new facilities and engage providers early in the project. For our DRA01 data centre, we needed a trusted advisor to transform conceptual designs into stateof-the-art solutions.
Vertiv was selected thanks to their expertise in AI infrastructure and unique
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