The new solution will result in savings of up to 18,400MWh annually and make Interxion’s Marseille data centers among the most efficient in France
The €15 million cooling solution, which is up to 30 times more energy-efficient than traditional cooling systems, will result in savings of up to 18,400 megawatt hour (MWh) annually, while simultaneously mitigating the emission of 795 tons of CO2, the equivalent of 5,560 trees planted each year. It also helps to significantly improve the power usage effectiveness (PUE) of Interxion’s data centers located in the port of Marseille, which will no longer be reliant on electric chillers. Roughly twenty percent of the most efficient data centers in France achieve a PUE of less than 1.6. However, with the new solution operational, Interxion’s Marseille data centers could reach an as-designed PUE of 1.2.
The solution, which took two and a half years to build and includes more than three kilometres of buried networks and 27 heat exchangers, works by diverting underground water from a former industrial facility dating back to the late 19th century, ‘La Galerie de la Me’. The structure collects and channels rainwater that seeps in from the old mines of Gardanne to the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille. Kept at 15°C year-round, the water is channelled via a buried network and pumping station near the Interxion data centers, which is then used to cool them by a thermal exchange.
Developed with a circular economy approach in mind, Interxion’s River Cooling solution will eventually be used to supply the Euromediterranée urban heating network and cover the needs of 500,000sqm of offices and homes.
“In addition to seeking local resources for cooling our data centers, we are systematically studying the availability of the calories emitted by our data centres for district heating purposes. River cooling is therefore a successful example of innovation and circular integration in its territory. As a result, this project has received technical and financial support from Ademe (French Environment and Energy Management Agency) and the South Region, who we would like to thank”, adds Linda Lescuyer, Energy Director, Interxion France.
“The River Cooling solution reflects our strong desire to support the development of the digital economy while minimizing the impact of our data centers on the environment. How do we do this? By providing the eco-responsible data centers that our customers, investors, employees and citizens expect. This innovation provides our customers with a solution that is 30 times more energy-efficient than traditional cooling systems, enabling them to reduce the carbon footprint of their data centers at Interxion and meet their CSR objectives,” says Fabrice Coquio, Managing Director, Interxion France.
The solution was designed by Interxion, Dalkia Smart Building and EDF Group with the support of four major companies which helped to implement the solution: Cap Ingelec, Largier Technologies, Schneider Electric and Victaulic. You can see how it works on the following video River Cooling video
