Telia boosts data centre capacity as artificial intelligence increases data centre capacity needs
20.5.2024 – The proliferation of AI services increases the need for data centre capacity in the Nordic countries by around 30% per year. Telia Helsinki Data Center is currently building 4 MW of additional capacity.
Search engines and other online services are increasingly making use of artificial intelligence. The proliferation of AI services increases the need for data centre capacity in the Nordic countries by around 30% per year. For example, online search using AI is estimated to require at least 5 to 10 times more power than a traditional Google search. Telia Helsinki Data Center is currently building 4 MW of additional capacity.
“AI computing consumes a lot of electricity. Our challenge is to get all that electricity delivered to a very small space and then remove the resulting heat from the space in a controlled manner. The heat collected from the data centre is transferred to the district heating network for distribution to thousands of homes and other properties in Helsinki,” says Matti Tella, Head of Telia Helsinki Data Center.
Telia Helsinki Data Center was built in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, in 2018 to provide colocation (server) facilities for various customers. Right from the start, the 34,000 square metre data centre was designed to be adaptable and as energy-efficient as possible.
“With the modular design, we ensured that the data centre could be expanded as the world and our customers’ need change,” says Telia’s Global Sector Lead Michael Holm.
With the growth of AI services, there are new types of operators in need of data centre capacity
“On the AI front, there are many new players whose data centre power requirements have suddenly increased to tens of megawatts. That means hundreds of new racks and an investment of tens of millions of euros,” says Holm.
In response to the increased use of artificial intelligence and other new network services, Telia Helsinki Data Center is currently building 4 MW of additional capacity, to be completed in early 2025.
According to Jari Innanen, Business Director at Granlund, a design and consultancy company specialising in data centre design, the data processing needs of AI are predicted to increase the capacity of data centres enormously and at an accelerating pace.
According to Innanen, in future investments, the data centres will have to adapt their space use in order to achieve more power per floor square metre. “The versatility brought about by modularity provides a good basis for increasing power capacity.”
Granlund acts as a design partner for Telia’s data centre projects. Changes are often required to cooling solutions and electricity distribution methods, for example.
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Jari Innanen
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