Swedish company Scandinavian Data Centers (SDC) announced that Fastighets AB Balder has joined as a long-term investor and partner. The investment enables the construction of SDC’s first data center ‘ScandiDC I’ in Eskilstuna.
“Balder’s investment catalyzes the development of our data center and shows how digital infrastructure can be both future-proof and socially beneficial. We have everything in place to deliver a high-security data center where excess heat from operations can be recycled and contributes to the local district heating network. It feels important to also be able to contribute to strengthening Swedish IT infrastructure, which has been high on the agenda,” says Svante Horn, CEO and co-founder of SDC.
Svante Horn was one the guests at last year's Datacenter Forum Stockholm, talking about heat reuse:
SDC’s first data center ‘ScandiDC I’ in Eskilstuna is being built in a 7,000 m2 rock cave from World War II, which provides a naturally strong shell protection. The facility is especially adapted for co-location customers and businesses with high demands on security and performance, such as authorities, banks and socially critical actors.
Heat recovery
SDC’s circular model combines data center, battery storage (BESS) and heat recovery to create maximum value per MW in terms of climate impact and societal benefit. The data center is designed to, in an initial stage, recover up to 10 MW of residual heat, which is planned to be fed into the local district heating network, operated by Eskilstuna Energi & Miljö. The residual heat will be enough to heat nearly 6,000 local households per year.
Eskilstuna Municipality is positive about the establishment and the long-term impact on the local community. Jimmy Jansson, Chairman of the Municipal Board of Eskilstuna Municipality, comments: “This investment strengthens Eskilstuna’s position as Sweden’s most environmentally friendly municipality and a pioneer in sustainable development. Scandinavian Data Centers provide a climate-smart and local heat source, which harmonizes well with our pursuit of a circular and resource-efficient future.”
Proof of concept
Data centers already account for around three percent of the world’s electricity consumption today, and the share is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. This places higher demands on energy-efficient and circular solutions. Unlike almost all other players, SDC sizes its data centers based on how much heat the district heating system can handle instead of just IT performance. This makes their model particularly suitable for circular energy systems.
“As AI grows and its energy needs increase, it is important to build facilities that use their energy efficiently and contribute to both electricity and heat supply in a circular energy system. Eskilstuna is our first 'proof of concept' establishment, but 240 of Sweden's 290 municipalities have district heating networks. Our vision is that as many of these as possible should be able to be heated using data centers,” continues Svante Horn. “The ambition is to create cutting-edge data centers with the highest standards in terms of security, environmental awareness and close collaboration with both the municipality and society.”
