atNorth expands in Iceland and forms heat reuse partnership

atNorth has revealed the substantial expansion of two of its data centers in Iceland.

The ICE02 campus near Keflavík, will gain an additional capacity of 35MW. The ICE03 site in Akureyri that opened last year will gain additional capacity of 16MW. Both sites have surplus space for further expansion in line with future demand.

Both data center sites are highly energy efficient, operating at a maximum PUE of 1.2 and will also be able to accommodate the latest in air and liquid cooling technologies, depending on customer preference. 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.

The innovative design of the data centers caters to data-intensive businesses that require high-density infrastructure for high-performance computing. The sites currently accommodate companies such as Crusoe, Advania, RVX, DNV, Opera, BNP Paribas, and Tomorrow.io.

As part of atNorth’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and collaboration, the business has also entered into a partnership with AgTech startup Hringvarmi, to recycle excess heat for use in food production. As part of this agreement, Hringvarmi will place their Generation 1 prototype module within ICE03, to test the concept of transforming "data into dinner" by 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”, says 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 expansion plans reflect the huge demand, both domestically and internationally for atNorth’s sustainable data center solutions. Data intensive businesses, including hyperscalers and companies that run AI and High-Performance Computing workloads, recognize the quality of the digital infrastructure available and are attracted by Iceland’s advantageous location. The country benefits from a consistently cool climate and an abundance of renewable energy in addition to fully redundant connectivity and a highly skilled workforce.

“We are experiencing a considerable increase in interest in our highly energy efficient, sustainable data centers”, says 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”.