MCR2 - a focus on sustainability

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Our environmental credentials

Our new Manchester data centre (MCR2) is currently being developed next door to our existing facility in Wythenshawe. The build is well underway, with opening scheduled for early 2025. In this blog, we’re taking a look at some of the sustainability features that have been put in place to ensure that environmentally efficient best practices and standards are being embedded across all parts of the build process, from design to implementation, as part of our wider sustainability strategy.

Datum currently participates in the GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) assessment process – a standardised framework for evaluating and comparing the sustainability efforts of different entities. We received a rating of 92 out of 100 during our 2023 assessment (compared to an average of 85 in our GRESB peer group).

About MCR2

As a data centre provider, we have a responsibility to our clients to ensure that continuous capacity is available and is delivered sustainably, supporting clients as they strive to meet their ESG targets. We hope to be able to expand fast enough to meet demand in the Manchester region, so that we can support our clients’ growth through resilient, secure and dependable data centre services and hosting solutions.

Once complete, our new Manchester DC will offer over 25,000 sq ft of enterprise-grade colocation space with 2N power redundancy, 100% 24/7 uptime, ISO27001 certification and NSI Gold Approved BS5979 security.

Construction

In order to develop our new site, an existing building needed to be demolished, replacing an older property with a new, more modern, energy efficient facility. This was determined to be the most environmentally efficient solution to support our expansion. Our waste management program ensured that all waste from the demolished building was handled efficiently and recycled where possible.

During construction, materials are being sourced from local suppliers wherever possible. We have also conducted an embodied carbon impact assessment to understand and minimise environmental impacts of the data centre construction. The project also includes a biodiversity plan to protect nature and reverse the degradation of ecosystems.

Power

MCR2 will be powered using clean energy from renewable sources with green certificates and solar PV roof panels. The PV system will generate over 83,000 kWh/yr with a CO2 emissions reduction of over 7.4 tonnes annually. Renewable HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) biofuels will fuel the emergency generators.

Cooling

A chilled water-cooling system with free cooling technology will be adopted, taking advantage of ambient temperatures to reduce the amount of energy required to power chillers.

Heat re-use

Our new data centre facility is being designed with the capability for heat exchangers to be connected to the cooling infrastructure to transfer the thermal load of the data centre cooling loop to a future local community heating network via a heat pump system. This will also reduce the amount of energy needed to deliver the required data centre cooling operation.

In addition, MCR2 is being specifically designed to handle an external ambient temperature of 40+°C, to help mitigate climate change risks related to extreme heat.

We are targeting a PUE of 1.2 with MCR2.

Interested in finding our more?

If you have any questions about MCR2 or are interested in registering for a tour of our new facility, please get in touch via the form here, or at info@datum.co.uk and a member of the team would be happy to arrange to chat further with you.

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