Penta Infra: Acquisition of Carbon-Neutral Nexus Data Centre
Penta Infra and Photon Capital have today shared the news of the acquisition of the newly-built Nexus data centre campus in Brussels, from developer Ghelamco.
Penta Infra is a core and edge colocation provider, which provides flexible, sustainable, carrier-neutral and compliant colocation across its European data centres, which are based in edge locations including Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Copenhagen and more.
Photon Capital is a specialised lead investor, based in Amsterdam, which puts its capital to work in digital infrastructure across Europe, by investing in high quality data centre assets.
Real estate investor and developer Ghelamco works across Belgium, Poland, the UK, France, Ukraine and Russia. The company is dedicated to developing more sustainable ways to complete its projects and meet the highest ecological standards across its portfolio.
The carbon-neutral Nexus data centre
The nine-storey Nexus data centre was designed with the collaboration of anchor tenants the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Free University of Brussels) and the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussels (Brussels University Hospital). Based in the Green Energy Park in Zellik, Brussels, it has 7.2 MW of IT load, based on a 12.5 MVA renewable power feed. The 10,000 sqm data centre offers medium, high and extreme power-density modules. It will also be used to house the VSC Flemish Supercomputer, a high-performance computing infrastructure, which supports scientific research in a collaborative effort alongside Flemish universities and research institutions.
- It is a carbon-neutral facility
- Runs on 100% renewable power
- Optimised PUE design
- Its photovoltaic facade generates up to 0.5 MW
- Rainwater recuperation is used for cooling
- 100% heat re-use based on a thermal smart grid
- BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating for circular and sustainable building practices
The Nexus data centre also has EDGE Advanced status and Uptime Institute Tier III certification for Design and Operational Sustainability. Penta Infra Group has acquired four data centre facilities with financing from Dutch NIBC Bank N.V, a private equity fund focused on European data centres.
Expanding data centre sustainability with teamwork and innovation
Bob Sprengers, Penta Infra CEO said that the company was delighted to add the brand new ultra-sustainable facility to its portfolio as Penta Infra BRU01.
“Brussels is at the heart of both Europe and the data-intensive FLAP hubs, and this beautifully-designed facility is the perfect flexible platform for digital growth,” he said. “Its exceptional sustainability credentials also make it a perfect fit for our low impact, 100% renewable-powered portfolio.”
The city is indeed a hive of data centre activity. As outlined in our Top 10: Data Centre Associations, Brussels is the headquarters of the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA), which is designed to represent the interests of the European data centre operator community.
Michael Gheysens, Ghelamco Managing Director Belgium, added that he was very proud of what his team has achieved in developing the facility along with its partners.
“It is innovative and progressive, we are confident it provides a valuable blueprint for next generation sustainable data centre design,” said Michael. “For Ghelamco this is the first of many data centres we will develop internationally, and we feel it is a perfect match for an experienced and environmentally-responsible colocation provider like Penta Infra.”
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