Verne Global, which operates a 100% renewable powered data center campus in Iceland, has been acquired by Digital 9, following an investment of £231m (€271m).
The purchase of the 40-acre, 24MW campus, is a first for Digital 9, being the only deal to involve a data center operator to date. According to the newly established investment trust, this deal accelerates its “ambition to decarbonise digital infrastructure” by “increasing access to data centers in areas where there are abundant supplies of clean energy”.
The Verne Global data center campus in Kevlafik, Iceland
Commenting on the deal, Thor Johnsen, Head of Digital Infrastructure at Triple Point, D9’s Investment Manager, said: “Data centers form a key part of the digital infrastructure backbone. Verne Global’s existing Icelandic based data center assets represent some of the cleanest, lowest carbon footprint data centres, globally. This is another key step to support decarbonising the data center industry.”
Adding to this, Johnsen said that in order for society to meet decarbonisation goals, there needs to be a shift to utilizing surplus renewable energy. Further to this, he outlined the digital infrastructure industry cannot rely on carbon offsets in markets already struggling to meet targets. He said: “We need to attract data centre demand to areas where there are robust sources of renewable power.”
Dominic Ward, CEO of Verne Global, said: “We are absolutely delighted to become part of the Digital 9 Infrastructure platform. Its mission to support and develop highly-resilient digital infrastructures that fuel innovation, but are also sustainable and inclusive, resonates tremendously with Verne Global’s own business objectives.”
