It is summer 2022, an extensive research & concepting phase lies behind Vlado, Alex & the team. OnZero, back then operating under a different name, but with the same mission to reduce emission in the data center space, were ready to start their proof of concept project.
As the team has invested in building a strong network of relevant stakeholders within the nordics, the search for the right partner in this project was an easy task.
Vattenfall, the Swedish energy giant has signaled great interest into our data center developments from early on. That’s why they directed us to the perfect partner for our proof of concept: VB Energi, the local district heating provider in Fagersta, a small Swedish town close to Stockholm. The goal for the project was to see how our simulated parameter of flow rate and heat output behaves in a real life scenario.
Despite the small footprint of our mobile data centers, we still opt out for efficient and sustainable planning. This includes receiving all necessary permits and conducting crucial environmental checks to see if the land is suitable for our Digital Heat Plant, our data center. The first thing in our site preparation process is the establishment of the district heating connection to the future position of our data center. Due to the specific weather conditions in the nordics the ground digging is mostly conducted in spring, when snow melts and the frozen is warming up slowly. Simultaneously or slightly before, the electrical connection is established. Before we were able to transfer any heat to VB Energi, we had to set up all the computing device, which meant installing hundreds of servers. In addition to the servers, we were thrilled to see the liquid-cooling process live in action, which also meant that we were close to transferring the first captured waste heat. But before we can actually deliver any heat, the piping between our devices has to be concluded. Pipes and pressure values wasn’t something that our team was familiar for their whole career, but the intensive research enabled us to understand the principles of hydro-engineering.
Fortunately, the construction phase went as planned and through the large excitement of our team and partners to finally launch our first data center, the mood was full of motivation. And so the final moment arrived, when we were able to press the magic button, which activates our servers, captures nearly 99% of waste energy and transfers it as heat to the local district heating company, that’s the concept of utilizing “spillvärme”, the swedish word for waste heat.
Since then, our first two DHPs are still placed in Fagersta, right next to the local district heating plant. As we could finally proof our concept in real-life, we were eager to expand our operations into many more cities, regions and countries.
