Would you like to join us in creating the green data centres that the future will not only need but demand? We are already on our way.
Green Edge Compute was established in January 2021, but the project started back in 2018. The company has reached several milestones and have extensive plans for further growth in 2022 and beyond.
Green Edge consists of three dedicated entrepreneurs who have more than 100 years of experience and expertise combined, namely the two co-founders Svein H. Olavesen and Patrik Hagelin and VP of business development, Jan-Georg Larsen.
Aim to revolutionize the data centre market
– We have a vision, that is to revolutionize the data centre market by ignoring all old truths, starting all over again, and making it better and much more sustainable! Says, Svein H. Olavesen, CEO and co-founder.
Olavesen actually first started working on building data centres over 20 years ago.
– When I started researching our concept, I was surprised that the industry is mainly using the same methods today as way back then. This really surprised me. With all the advances in technology that have been made, it seems incredible that there had been practically no innovation at all. We decided to do something about it. The result is Green Edge Compute, Olavesen says.
The vision has been hatched out by Olavesen and co-founder Patrik Hagelin and is already being realized step by step.
The solution to a growing problem
The data centre industry is facing two critical challenges. It is one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide. However, the establishment of a growing number of data centres can be detrimental to the environment.
Globally, the industry generates more carbon emissions than the entire aviation industry. Some forecasts estimate that the energy consumption of the data centre industry will consume one-fifth of the world's energy recourses by 2030.
At the same time, the emergence of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G networks, autonomous vehicles/boats, remote surgery, smart buildings, intelligent cities etc. requires an increasing amount of computing power with low latency. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 75% of generated data will be created outside centralized data centres.
A green solution from the ground up
– A lot of people in the industry are afraid that sustainable data centres are too expensive to build, but that is actually not true. What makes a project expensive is building a data centre first and then thinking about ways of making it green and sustainable as an afterthought. What we are doing is the opposite. We started with sustainability as a premiss and then created the solution, which is green from the ground up, says CCO, Patrik Hagelin.
Sustainability is not something you do in addition to, but instead of. The concept is innovative and can only be achieved by thinking holistically.
– In addition, our data centres use up to 40% less power than the traditional data centres. This is good for the environment, and you save money at the same time, an irresistible win-win situation, says Hagelin.
How is this possible?
Green Edge Compute establishes green data centres in urban areas with innovative cooling technology that optimizes the use of excess heat and enables efficient energy consumption. Sustainable thinking, from scratch, saves not only the environment but also investment and operating costs.
– The power used in our data centres is actually being used twice! That is quite fantastic in itself! What makes it possible is placing the data centres in urban areas instead of in remote areas, where it would be too costly to transport the thermal energy back to the centre because of the distance, Hagelin says.
Green Edge Compute is the first player to have a holistic view of sustainable Edge data centres. What GEC does for the IT industry is what Tesla did for the car industry.
Bringing the data centre closer to the data is key
The rapid expansion of IoT- devices, increasing decentralization of data sources and the emergence of 5G networks are driving the demand for Edge Computing. Edge brings storage and computing resources as close to the original data source as possible. This enables companies and organizations to utilize data communication with low latency and the speed of advanced analytics.
We need to shift our focus from the central data centre to the periphery or edge of the infrastructure - take storage and data processing resources from the remote data centre and move those resources to the point where the data is created.
The principle is simple: If you cannot bring the data closer to the data centre, you must bring the data centre closer to the data. Green Edge Compute fill in the missing link, between the cloud and data processing.
A pilot is being built in our first data centre GEC ONE
We entered into a cooperation agreement with Trondheim Municipality and (+ City change EU project) Trondheim Municipality is assisting GEC in establishing the first data centre as well as securing customers and use cases.
For Green Edge Compute, the pilot project is an important step towards establishing trust among customers and future partners. We aim to prove that our data centre concept is actually better, without compromising data and network security. To ensure the highest level of trust, only the most reputable equipment and suppliers of hardware, software and networks are used.
SINTEF will quantify sustainability gains
In a comprehensive study, SINTEF researchers are in the process of developing methods and models for documenting and quantifying the sustainability gains.
This is possible by utilizing existing buildings' liquid cooling, surplus heat, and higher density server racks in data centre operations. This will support our sustainability goals, as well as provide customers with documentation of their real savings with our solution versus the alternatives.
– This is just the beginning. We will introduce our concept to other Scandinavian cities during the next years, aiming to be present in most major Nordic cities by 2025, says CEO, Svein Harald Olavesen.
Milestones and partners since the beginning
Cooperation agreement with Trondheim Municipality and (+ CityXchange EU project)
Trondheim Municipality is committed to assisting GEC with the establishment of the first data centre, GEC One. They also assist in securing customers and use cases.
Cooperation agreement with Statkraft Varme
Statkraft will purchase the heat produced in GEC ONE at Sluppen in Trondheim. The plan is to extend the collaboration into other locations where Statkraft Varme supplies district heating in Norway and Sweden.
Commercially and financially supported by HPE / Intel
HPE and Intel work closely together to develop rack solutions using liquid as the cooling method. They are committed to supporting the project with their marketing muscles in addition to advantageous pricing.
Cooperation agreement with MarkedsPartner AS
MarkedsPartner delivers digital marketing, including web and editorial material and is a shareholder in Green Edge Compute AS as well.
Cooperation agreement with Miracle
Miracle is Scandinavia's largest supplier of open-source software and projects. They will deliver basic software from Red Hat, and develop a platform and portal that our customers, partners, and operators will use in collaboration with GEC. Miracle will be responsible for the support and service of the technical solution.
Cooperation agreement with CGI
CGI will use our solutions for its customers in future, as sustainable data solutions are important for the company. CGI is one of the world's largest suppliers of computer solutions to customers in the oil/gas, finance, and public sector.
Cooperation agreement with Fortum Oslo Varme
Fortum Oslo Varme has signed an agreement to collaborate in the next location in Oslo. They intend to buy the heat from the data centre when it is built. FOV has an extensive district heating network in Oslo.
Agreement with Kjeldsberg Eiendom about location in Trondheim
Kjeldsberg Eiendom has made the data centre location available for us at a favourable price. The property was previously a Tieto EVRY data centre.
Cooperation agreement with GK
GK will handle our data rooms in relation to the installation of a liquid solution, heat pumps, electricity, and cooling. GK also supports our pilot financially.
Telenor Security safeguarding our data
Telenor Security delivers network and security solutions that are operated in the same way as socially critical infrastructure (defence, emergency networks, public agencies, etc.) Telenor will operate our entire infrastructure, including firewalls and lines. Telenor also supports our pilot financially.
Supported by Innovation Norway
Innovation Norway supports our pilot with NOK 2.5 Mill and a favourable loan of NOK 1.5 Mill.
Agreement with SINTEF as consultants
Through its team of experts in the field of renewable energy, SINTEF has agreed to scientifically measure, verify, and document our solution during the pilot phase in the spring of 2022.
