Lefdal Mine Datacenter has completed the build-out of Phase 1, with power and cooling capacity of 45MW available immediately. Update: For those wanting to know more, we visited Lefdal Mine, talked to those behind it, and discussed its challenges - go here to find out what we thought.

The facility in Norway, set on the site of a former olivine mine, could potentially offer 120,000 square meters (1,291,669 sq ft) of white space and 200MW+ of power capacity once fully populated.

Down below

“We can facilitate all known concepts for white space solutions and the facility structure enables a streamlined solution for containers in different shapes and sizes” Jørn Skaane, CEO of Lefdal Mine Datacenter, said.

“We can also customize power density, temperature, humidity, operational equipment, Tier level and all related services ensuring the right solution for all our customers.”

Initial partners on the project include Rittal and IBM: Rittal is providing container solutions for the mine, while IBM will be offering its cloud Resiliency Services from within the facility. Also moving in is German cloud provider Innovo, which Rittal is an investor in. The company plans to start with a single shipping container from Rittal, and scale its deployment in line with demand.

At a launch event attended by DCD, Swiss technical infrastructure project financing company Fortuitus announced that it would install 4MW of immersion-cooled HPC infrastructure into the mine in Q3 2017, with an expectation to install another 4MW the year after.

With Lefdal Mine Datacenter set inside a mountain, the company was keen to tout its physical security credentials, as well as the fact that the site is safe from electromagnetic pulse attacks.

Skaane said: “We acknowledge the increase in demand for high secure data center capacity, and foresee a future where governments and private sector invest in solutions guaranteeing uptime and proper solutions for back-up and disaster recovery.”

The data center is cooled by seawater from the adjacent fjord, and powered by renewable energy.

For a deep dive into the data center, its plans, and the people behind it, be sure to read the next issue of DCD Magazine, which will cover Lefdal Mine in depth. To ensure that you get a copy delivered to your door (for free), be sure to subscribe now.