SWITCH DATACENTERS
“ So , it ' s all about understanding what is the best spot to start developing a new data centre formula . And we are 100 % convinced that Amsterdam is the perfect ground for that . Not only due to the size of the market , but also the political environment we are in .”
Communicating sustainability – how to get the public on-board So , the twofold challenge becomes implementing future-proof sustainable solutions , while also communicating those efforts to clients and the public . As Van Essen states , preserving the industry requires nothing short of a new reputation .
“ What we really now need to see happening , very quickly , is for the hyperscalers to start adapting their operational data centre technology models to actually become much more green by nature ,” he urges .
120MW + Switch Datacenters has more than 120MW of data centre capacity in development in Amsterdam
“ If they still build new , huge land-consuming data centres designed on air cooling , the situation will never change . So we will really call on the hyperscalers and the forwardlooking companies to start implementing alternative cooling technologies and start looking at site redevelopment , rather than builing new ones from scratch .”
Despite being a relatively small industry player , Switch is renowned for being a major presence on the sustainability stage and a key voice in these global discussions .
“ We have been a very active member of all the forward-looking innovation committees in the global industry for many years , and try to contribute there as much as we can . We ' ve been very active in the Open Compute Platform , for instance ; we ' re also one of the founding members of the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance and a member of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact .”
To help drive innovation further in the sector , Switch even opened up one of its Amsterdam data centres as a test batch for new sustainable technologies .
“ We said , ‘ If you guys want to see how this works and try it out , come to us , and we will actually help you to develop your solutions ’. Already , we have quite a number of forward-looking companies coming to us because they want to do something with liquid cooling , reusing heat or using refurbished equipment .”
“ They naturally come to us now : we understand their way of thinking , and we actually facilitate their division models . And that ' s
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