Live at Start Campus! Rob Dunn & Pankaj Sharma: Building a foundation for sustainable AI

Andy Davis is live in Sines, Portugal for an exclusive episode of the Inside Data Centre Podcast! Joined by Pankaj Sharma, Executive Vice President, Data Centres, Networks & Services at Schneider Electric, and Robb Dunn, CEO at Start Campus, the episode discusses how this partnership is building the foundations of sustainable AI data centres in their new facility.

The episode highlights the importance of collaboration in ensuring sustainability and efficiency to facilitate one of the largest data centre infrastructures in Europe, as well as their contribution to both Schneider Electric and Start Campus’ sustainability mission. With the industry quickly scaling up and the need for data becoming more prominent, the construction of the data centre in its strategic innovation and forward planning helps form a better narrative for future digital transformation.

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SPEAKER_00 0:17

To give you insider info on everything happening in the first time.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Welcome to the Inside Data Center podcast. I'm recording this episode live at Start Campus Instinets Portugal, where Schneider Electric and Start Campus are sharing how they're building the foundations for sustainable AI data centres. Delighted to be joined by Pankas Sharma from Schneider Electric and Rob Dunn from Start Campus. Welcome both. Before we start with the questions, I just want to give a quick introduction and overview of your role within your respective organizations. Pankash, start with you.

SPEAKER_03 0:52

Yes, hi. So Pankash Sharma, I work for Schneider Electric. I run the global data center business and the global services of Schneider Electric. Live in Boston, been with the company 25 years.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

A long time, yeah. I was listening to that in your presentation earlier.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

A long time within Schneider Electric. And Rob. Yeah, afternoon, Andy. Uh yeah, so Rob Dunn, CEO of Start Campus, joined the company around three years ago. Been in the industry for 18 or so years now. Welcome to Portugal, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Yeah, thanks. I was going to say as well, it's amazing to be here and thank you both for the invitation to come here and obviously learn more about how you guys are working together, but also to see the campus in action. It's an amazing facility. And that's a good place to start, I think. With regards to Start Campus, the history behind it, the location, it's an amazing location for a data centre as well. You know, we've all been to these facilities and they're not always in such beautiful locations. But Rob, can you give a quick overview of the facility, the history behind it, and also the importance to the region?

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Sure. So I guess starting with the history, it started with the thesis of bringing these larger and larger scale data centers to where the power was available. So the founders and board members back in 2020 looked at a wide range of opportunities around Europe and eventually settled on this location in Portugal because it had uh availability of renewable power, great access to uh cable landing stations just nearby. And we were able to reuse uh an old coal power, coal-fired power plant and their cooling technology, which I'll explain a little bit later, which makes it quite unique to the data center industry.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Yeah, we've just been down to see the seawater cooling, which again is amazing and obviously part of this discussion. And Schneider Electric and Start Campus are collaborating amazingly on this development, and we've had a number of presentations this morning about how you're working together. But Pancast, do you want to give a bit of an insight into the relationship between Schneider Electric and Start Campus and also some of the initiations that you've you've implemented on the project?

SPEAKER_03 2:47

I think the starting point of the relationship obviously has been a few years now, but it's all at the base of sustainability being the DNA, I think, both the companies. I would say, and and the way the location is and the way the data center is built out, as you saw today. And then when we think about Schneider, all the gear we have provided inside, this is everything related to efficiency, sustainability, you know, all of those equipment inside. That match became almost like a perfect match for this being one of the largest data centers uh in the Europe region, actually.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

Yeah, well, how important is it to you as well to have supply chain partners that you can really collaborate with? And again, it's a huge facility, like you've just said, it is the biggest AR data center campus in Europe when it's uh complete. But how important is that relationship for you?

SPEAKER_02 3:32

I mean, it's important to work with people you can rely on. I've been in the industry for a while now and we're building a new supply chain in Portugal, but you need to supplement that with uh global partners like Schneider when you're building at the pace that we're building and the scale that we're building. So yeah, building with people that have done it before and that can deliver in new regions without uh you know missing a beat is very important to us.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

And what are some of the products that you've implemented in this facility that obviously Schneider Electric have provided?

SPEAKER_03 4:00

Yeah, I mean, I can give you a few examples. And again, linking back to the sustainability mission of Start Campus, when you think about some of the powertrain which is here. So this is one of our customers who's used SF6 free uh medium-volated switch gear, which is extremely important because SF6 is a very bad gas for the planet. Uh they have our uh GVL UPS systems, which are the lowest footprint in the market, which means less material going in, which means more and more sustainable, more and more clean. We actually also have a lot of work done with with Start here on software, EPMS and BMS type of solutions, because that helps in the better efficiency of running the whole uh physical infrastructure of the data center. We actually also collaborated in uh green energy sourcing uh for Start to our sustainability business division. So these are some of the examples of what the work which we've done together uh with Start Here.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Yeah, the green energy sourcing one's the most interesting one. As we all know, buying power for the scale that we're talking about at the moment. So, yes, we've got grid connection for one and a half gigawatt. That's part of it. But then buying the renewable power through PPAs and other agreements is quite challenging, especially when you can't fully anticipate the customer's load and how that might vary over time. So we're working with the Schneider team to look at different products that are on the market that can suit what we're anticipating will be the customer needs going forward.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Yeah, and I was going to talk about as well, as you scale, as the industry scales. We've heard a lot today about the the increase in demand for data, scalability, how this industry is just growing exponentially. And it's challenging for both of your organizations to kind of build sustainably, basically to grow sustainably with that demand for increased capacity. So, how will this relationship evolve as you move forward from a sustainability perspective, but also to ensure you can manage the scale from your perspective?

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Yeah, I think managing the scale is all about careful planning, planning projects as far ahead of time as you possibly can to get your to get your slots in the factory, to make sure that your designs are fully signed off and giving yourself time to learn from previous phases as well. So that continuous improvement is really important for us through construction, through operations, and through working with our partners. So we'll take the data coming out of the PME or the BMS, and then we'll look at that and look at how we might want to tweak the next design for our next generation.

SPEAKER_03 6:19

And just to expand a little bit on the careful planning, I think if you you mentioned largest air data center when it is complete, the key word there is that there is a whole plan behind it. And we, as one of the key suppliers, we are aware of the plan, so which means we have time to actually invest in the right capacities wherever needed for whatever equipment, way in advance, because we know uh what the planner star does over the next couple of years. So I think that that that part of the relationship works very well.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

And you mentioned as well about the seawater cooling, which is obviously quite very unique for a data center and obviously very important for this project and also the scalability of this development. Do you want to give a bit more insight into that aspect and how it's helping you scale this facility?

SPEAKER_02 7:02

Sure. So look, seawater cooling, dock water cooling, lake water cooling, it's been used in the industry before. In fact, I built a couple of data centers in the UK with smaller scale facilities like this. Um, some of our operations team have done much larger scale facilities like this directly for hyperscalers. Um, but this will be the biggest seawater facility uh in the data center market. We're reusing uh an old decommissioned coal-fired power plants facility. So it was being used for 20, 30 years. We know the the technology works, but we're making sure that it can work for data centers and it can be scaled up as we grow, uh, which will make it super efficient. So we'll only install the heat exchangers and the pumps as we need to, so that we can try to may maintain a PUE of roughly 1.1 as we grow out the campus. And that's that's what we're trying to achieve. We're not just using seawater for the sake of it. It's to improve the PUE, lower the total total cost of ownership for customers, lower the amount of power that we need to use, and lower the impact on the environment.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

And from a schinel-electric perspective, I guess it gives you the opportunity to learn, seeing that in operation and kind of adapt your own products in order for the future of this sector.

SPEAKER_03 8:13

Of course. And and again, like uh Rob mentioned, uh utilizing sea or or lake water, etc., uh, is not new to this industry. But at this scale, yeah, and of course, nobody I don't think anybody's done it at this scale. But it helps again. You know, again, going back in time, this was something which you folks were talking about even four years ago. So it it gives us the ability to think about okay, how do we bring in our products for a solution like this versus everywhere else where you would not be even using it? Like it's still very small in terms of number of use cases, which would be like the seawater utilization. No, it's it's definitely helpful. It's again about clear planning in advance and strategic thinking, sustainability-driven. I mean, you know that the direction we are going to go in together, uh, the partnership works well.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

Yeah, and that's what the partnership gives you, isn't it? That ability to plan and develop. And one point I wanted to pick up on as well is the importance of today. You know, you've invited a number of journalists and media outlets here to your start campus, your facility, and to learn about Schneider Electric to communicate what you're doing here. Why is it so important to both of your organizations that you you hold an event such as this? And Pankash?

SPEAKER_03 9:19

Yeah, I mean, look, I I would just say, as we as I said briefly in the morning, there is all this narrative around AI and how data centers can be built and how it could be a problem for the planet, et cetera, et cetera. At least for me personally and my team, it's important for you folks and everybody who's here the 40, 50 people, journalists, to see how it is done. So this is like one example that you could still go after the AI opportunity, build all these data data centers in the most sustainable fashion if you have available clean power. So that's the narrative will change when we speak about this more and more. Right? So to me, it this helps the whole industry then. And it actually goes into a certain path, which is where we all want to go eventually. And the narrative starts to get cleaner. So that's that's for us, Schneider, it helps the whole industry factory.

SPEAKER_02 10:07

For me, it's always good to show off the facility that we spent so long trying to get perfect over the last couple of years. So it's always nice to show people around. But I think it's so important that they can see what we mean by a 60 kilowatt rack and the the cooling that requires, the power that we require to get into such a small space, and then you can anticipate we're going to double density on the next phase and then maybe triple it on the next on the next one. This is also important. But I think the most important thing for me is to get people out to Portugal. It's not a traditional data center market. So I think a lot of the folks here would have traveled Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin. But to come and see that you can build a data center in a place like this and all of the advantages that surround it, I think just take all takes away some of the mystery.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Yeah, totally. I was just about to say it's demystifying this industry, isn't it? That's what we're all trying to do, I think. Communicate it in a way where you understand the importance, but you also understand the impact. And I think, again, sustainability is huge on that. Like we're we're doing a lot for sustainability as well, whereas a lot of the communication can not always explain it in that way. So it's really important. And what's next for for the relationship and also for Stark Campus?

SPEAKER_02 11:14

Well, for us, what's next is uh our next building, which will be 180 megawatts. Um, so that's on the plot right next door, which you will have seen. We're expanding the seawater facility, and we'll be taking the delivery of the transformers for the large substation we're building. So that's all due to commence probably second half of this year. We've already ordered some of the equipment, and then uh potentially with Schneider, we could be ordering more equipment later on this year uh to hopefully have that facility up and running within 24 months.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

And Pankash from a Snyder Electric perspective. Making their life easy.

SPEAKER_03 11:46

That's primary for us, really. I mean, again, I mean we've we've known about the plans. As and when they start breaking ground, as and when they start building, uh, our job remains to make sure that we provide them the best experience, uh, customer intimacy with the best sustainability with our solutions. So this relationship, that's number one for me.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Now and I just want to echo your point. Thanks for the invite to come here. It is an amazing location, and I think I agree with you around the the demystifying certain locations as well. You know, these are not all in the same place, they're not all you're in city centres or at near airports, which is where we hear a lot of it. It is well worth visiting if anyone's listening or watching, and you definitely get yourself out here. And and I love the fact that you've together you've brought everybody here as well, because that's very rare in this industry. So you know, well done to both your organizations and keep up the good work.

SPEAKER_03 12:39

Thanks for coming. Thank you for having us.