Nautilus Data Technologies has launched a new modular data center offering.
The company has launched a new product line known as EcoCore, based on the cooling technology the firm developed for its own data centers.
The modular data center design offers 2.5MW of capacity. Nautilus said EcoCore “enhances prefabrication efficiency and streamlines the construction process” by integrating data center white space with the grey space and strategically positioning MEP components above. The offering is said to support traditional hot aisle and advanced liquid cooling systems.
The design includes four parallel CDU units, each capable of delivering up to 833kW of heat rejection; a Primary Electrical Unit providing 1250 kW of 415V 3-phase power distribution; a Reserve Power Unit offering 1250kW of reserve power, configured in N+1 redundancy.
EcoCore will be used at Start Campus's upcoming development in Sines, Portugal. The first such deployment outside its own facilities, Nautilus said it designed Start’s EcoCore deployment to meet the customer's requirements for high-density, liquid-cooled servers.
Nautilus recently announced a "multi-megawatt" data center agreement with Start Campus in which it also announced the launch of EcoCore.
The deal will see Nautilus deploy EcoCore to enhance data hall cooling for the first phase of the campus, which is due to launch later this year.
Announced in 2021, ground was broken on the Start project in 2022. Start and Nautilus originally announced they were partnering via an MoU back in September 2023. At the time, Nautilus hadn't officially announced the EcoCore offering.
Rob Dunn, CEO of Start Campus, said: “This is a good example of how we conceive data centers: customer-centric and future-proofed from the outset. The innovative cooling offer will drive our infrastructure’s efficiency and green credentials to new heights, allowing us to meet our clients’ evolving needs with unparalleled precision and reliability, while staying true to our founding principle of sustainability.”
Rob Pfleging, Nautilus CEO, added: “We are thrilled to partner with Start Campus in this project. Nautilus’ sustainable technology sets a new standard in the industry, offering unmatched efficiency and adaptability. This deal signifies a milestone for Nautilus and reinforces our commitment to pushing the boundaries of data center innovation.”
Nautilus is best known for its floating barge data center concept, but is also trying to push into near-water data center deployments. Its colocation facilities are cooled by the water on which they float or are near, which is circulated through an open cooling system that cools purified water in a secondary closed loop that runs through the data halls.
The company currently only operates one floating barge in Stockton, California, but plans to build a land-based facility in Maine. It also has more water-bourne projects in the works in the US as well as Ireland and mainland Europe, and has MoUs to explore business opportunities in Thailand and the Philippines.
With EcoCore, it seems the company is expanding out of only colocation and into becoming a supplier to other data center operators. On its website, the company currently lists ‘vetted’ sites able to deploy EcoCore modules in Maine, France, and Ireland. The company has reached out to tell DCD EcoCore can be deployed anywhere.
Start, owned by US investment fund Davidson Kempner and the British Pioneer Point Partners, is planning a 495MW campus on more than 60 hectares of land adjacent to a recently decommissioned coal power plant in the city of Sines on the Portuguese coast.
The companies said Nautilus will also provide cooling solutions for the second phase of the Start Campus, which will include a 120MW capacity expansion.
Dunn was appointed interim CEO of Start in November 2023, after the company was involved in a corruption scandal that saw Portugal’s prime minister, António Costa, resign.
Start’s then-CEO Afonso Salema was amongst those arrested amid investigations of alleged “misuse of funds, active and passive corruption by political figures, and influence peddling.”
Salema resigned from the company in November 2023, alongside chief legal and sustainability Rui Oliveira Neves, who was also arrested. Salema has since founded an investment advisory firm called Light Fossil.
Joining in April 2022, Dunn was previously Start’s head of design and delivery. At time of writing, his LinkedIn still has him listed as interim CEO, though the recent Nautilus announcement doesn't include the interim title.
