Nordic colocation firm atNorth is expanding two of its data centers in Iceland.
The company this week announced its ICE02 campus near Keflavík, will gain an additional capacity of 35MW. The ICE03 site in Akureyri, which opened last year, will gain an additional 16MW.
The initial phase of ICE02’s expansion became operational in Q3 2024 and all further phases for both sites are expected to be completed in the first half of 2025. Both sites also have surplus space for further expansion in line with future demand.
“We are experiencing a considerable increase in interest in our highly energy efficient, sustainable data centers,” said Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO at atNorth. “We have power agreements and building permits in place and will meet this demand as part of our ongoing sustainable expansion strategy”.
The company has also entered into a partnership with AgTech startup Hringvarmi, to recycle excess heat for use in food production.
Hringvarmi will place its Generation 1 prototype module within ICE03 to test the concept of utilizing waste heat to grow microgreens in collaboration with the food producer Rækta Microfarm.
“We are delighted to be part of atNorth’s innovative data center ecosystem,” said Justine Vanhalst, co-founder of Hringvarmi. “Our partnership aims to boost Iceland’s agriculture industry to lessen the need for imported produce and contribute to Iceland’s circular economy.”
The 13,750 sqm (148,000 sqft), 80MW ICE02 facility is located close to Keflavik International Airport and 50km southwest of capital city Reykjavík.
Announced in 2022, ICE03 opened last year and offers 2,500 sqm (26,900 sq ft) of space across two buildings. The site could eventually be scaled up to accommodate up to 50MW of IT capacity. It is linked to Iceland’s closed electricity grid which runs on 100 percent renewable hydro and geothermal energy.
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AtNorth noted the sites currently accommodate companies such as Crusoe, Advania, RVX, DNV, Opera, BNP Paribas, and Tomorrow.io.
Spun out of Advania in 2017 and owned by Partners Group since 2022, atNorth operates seven data centers across Sweden, Iceland, and Finland.
The company currently has four other sites in development, with two in Finland; FIN02 in Helsinki and FIN04 in Kouvola. It also has two in development in Denmark; the DEN01 site in the Ballerup region outside Copenhagen, and DEN02 in Ølgod in Varde. The Helsinki and Ballerup sites are set to launch next year.
