Vantage Data Centers has announced it will expand its EMEA portfolio with the opening of a second data center campus in Zurich this summer in a bid to meet growing regional demand.
Dubbed ZRH2, the highly secure, operator-neutral campus will feature a total of 226,000 square feet at its location in Glattfelden, 30 km north of Zurich city centre. It is expected to provide an additional 24 MW of critical IT capacity.
Combined with the company's existing ZRH1 flagship campus, located just over 20 km away in Winterthur, the pair will offer a total capacity of 64 MW to meet the computing requirements of hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises.
Vantage said it will employ more than 400 workers during peak construction, while the campus itself will provide a total of 25 jobs once it is operational.
Sustainable by design
The new campus follows Vantage's “Sustainable by Design” plan, as it works to achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions across its global portfolio by 2030. The company said ZRH2 will deliver energy usage effectiveness (PUE) and industry-leading water use effectiveness. (EU).
To this end, the campus will include several green data center features. These include air source heat pumps (ASHP) and water source heat pumps (WSHP) to condition administrative spaces using reused waste heat and reduce dependence on external energy, while also providing heat to a nearby hotel and seminar centre.
To help minimize its impact on the environment, the site will also feature rainwater infiltration and a “green roof” containing plants. Vantage said the roof will be finished with a façade capable of withstanding harsh seasonal weather conditions, while blending in with the aesthetics of the surrounding community.
Meeting the demands of AI
In an announcement, Vantage said the new Zurich campus will help it meet the growing performance and power demands driven by the adoption of AI and high performance computing (HPC) workloads.
“Zurich is a rapidly growing data center market due to its strategic central location and global financial leadership and we look forward to continuing to develop in this market based on customer demand,” said David Howson, president of Vantage Data Centers for EMEA. “Across Europe and the world, demand for highly efficient, hyperscale data centers is booming to meet the needs of next-generation applications, from powerful AI models to high-performance computing and cloud transformation.
“Vantage is prepared to meet that demand from new and existing customers, and we look forward to opening the doors to our latest data center this summer.”
