How atNorth is Expanding Heat Reuse Technology in Iceland

Leading Nordic colocation service provider atNorth has announced a substantial expansion of two of its data centres in Iceland.

The sites will be expanded in response to increasing demand for atNorth’s sustainable infrastructure, which will help meet AI and high-performance computing (HPC) needs in a more environmentally-friendly way.

atNorth’s ICE02 and ICE03 sites will expand significantly, with ICE02 gaining an additional capacity of 35 megawatts (35MW) and ICE03 gaining 16MW. Both sites also have surplus space for further expansion in line with future demand.

The initial phase of ICE02’s expansion became operational in Q3 2024 and all further phases for both sites are expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.

A sustainable pledge

Both atNorth data centre sites are highly energy efficient and operate at a maximum PUE of 1.2 and will also be able to accommodate the latest in air and liquid cooling technologies, depending on customer preference.

Data-intensive businesses, including hyperscalers, are drawn to the strategic location of Iceland - a nation that benefits from a continually cool climate and large amounts of renewable energy, fully redundant connectivity and a highly skilled workforce. 

atNorth’s expansion plans reflect these benefits, with the organisation’s expansion plans reflecting the huge demand for its suitable data centre solutions, both domestically and internationally. 

“We are experiencing a considerable increase in interest in our highly energy efficient, sustainable data centres,” says Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO at atNorth. “We have power agreements and building permits in place and will meet this demand as part of our ongoing sustainable expansion strategy”.

The innovative design of the company’s data centre sites caters to data-intensive businesses that require high-density infrastructure for HPC workloads. They currently accommodate companies such as Crusoe, Advania, RVX, DNV, Opera, BNP Paribas and Tomorrow.io.

Heat reuse as a viable data centre strategy

As part of atNorth’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and collaboration, the business has also entered into a partnership with AgTech startup, Hringvarmi, to recycle excess heat  for use in food production. 

Under this agreement, Hringvarmi will place their Generation 1 prototype module within ICE03, to test the concept of transforming "data into dinner" by utilising waste heat to grow microgreens in collaboration with the food producer Rækta Microfarm.

“We are delighted to be part of atNorth’s innovative data centre ecosystem,” says Justine Vanhalst, Co-Founder of Hringvarmi. “Our partnership aims to boost Iceland’s agriculture industry to lessen the need for imported produce and contribute to Iceland’s circular economy”.

Heat reuse technology is often suggested as a viable solution within the data centre industry as a way to make data centres more sustainable and committed to decarbonisation. This is because the heat can be rerouted to heat residential or commercial buildings close to the source. 

Given such a surge in power demand, the industry is having to work hard to reduce its environmental impact and meet its sustainability targets. 

atNorth has already been working on heat reuse technology at one of its new data centre sites in Denmark, DEN02. The company wants to recycle heat from the new campus for use in greenhouses, as well as providing heating and hot water for local communities.

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