This Week's Top Five Stories in the Data Centre Industry

Why Elea Data Centers is Betting on the Amazon Region for AI

In the Amazon, river systems still dictate the rhythm of logistics and humidity is often a design constraint.

Yet, it may come as a surprise that a new kind of infrastructure has been announced within the region.

Elea Data Centers and AXIA Energia are moving ahead with BEL1, the first AI-neutral data centre planned for the Amazon, in Belém, Brazil.

Set to begin operations in the second quarter of 2027, the facility marks a shift in how and where Brazil is expanding its compute footprint, with energy, connectivity and geography converging in a single build.

Comin Asia & Nokia: Scaling AI Facilities in Southeast Asia

A new partnership between Comin Asia and Nokia aims to deploy AI-ready infrastructure across the region.

But instead of building in the established data centre hubs in Southeast Asia, the companies are specifically focusing on markets that traditionally attract less attention.

Comin Asia and Nokia are looking to Cambodia as an early-stage market suited to localised infrastructure deployment.

The country of Laos also offers surplus power capacity alongside growing cross-border network connectivity that could support future regional AI workloads.

The companies are targeting modular, in-building and edge-ready facilities designed to support enterprise and government AI workloads closer to where data is generated.

Behind Schneider Electric's 3-Phase UPS Monitoring Expansion

Data centres depend on resilient power infrastructure, but what happens when electricity demand keeps climbing and engineering expertise is scarce?

In the worst case scenario, downtime costs in data centres can range from US$10,000 to US$10m per hour, according to research conducted by Schneider Electric.

While keeping critical power systems performing at their best is becoming complex, Schneider Electric believes an expansion of its EcoCare service can help ease that pressure.

The AI and continuous monitoring service has been expanded to include three-phase UPS systems, with the aim of identifying faults before they lead to costly outages.

The move extends EcoCare beyond its existing portfolio by combining 24/7 remote monitoring, AI-powered condition-based maintenance and expert support for one of the most important elements of data centre infrastructure.

How Equinix Turns Data Centre Heat into Milan City Heating

What could help heat one of Milan's most iconic landmarks? Surprisingly, the answer could be a data centre.

Equinix and A2A are capturing waste heat from servers and feeding it into Milan's district heating network, adding a new source of energy to the system that already warms buildings including the Duomo and Palazzo Reale.

The result is a project that gives digital infrastructure a new purpose beyond compute.

Heat generated by servers will be captured and exported to a new A2A Energy Center before being distributed across Milan.

When fully operational, the scheme is expected to become one of Europe's largest data centre heat export projects outside the Nordic region.

Compass Donates $12.6M for Data Centre Training in Texas

Compass Datacenters (Compass) is donating a US$12.6m building to Texas State Technical College to facilitate the training of local students for careers supporting the regional digital economy.

The 40,000-square-foot facility is situated at the company's Red Oak campus in Texas and will serve as the dedicated home for the MEI Data Center Pathway Program.

Compass co-developed this mechanical, electrical and IT training initiative with Texas State Technical College (TSTC) to provide practical experience for technical roles. 

The scheme targets the widespread skills shortage across the digital economy, specifically addressing the industry shortfall of more than 500,000 skilled trade professionals each year.