University of York moves data to Sweden for sustainability

The University of York has outlined that it is moving its data to Sweden in a bid to make its operations more sustainable. The UK university has chosen the EcoDataCenter in Falun, Sweden, to store its data, which it says has aided it in reducing its emissions from data by 98%. This has been made possible for the university through the data center offering AI, machine learning and High-Performance Computing that are sustainable.

The Falun campus, launched in 2018, offering 80MW over 35,000 sqm (377,000 sq ft) in its first stage; in March 2022, the company announced that it was investing SEK 1 billion ($102m) in a new 15MW facility. This is in addition to its plans for a new 150 MW data center campus in Östersund, Sweden.

Speaking about the decision for the university to migrate its data, Richard Fuller, assistant director at the University of York, said: "Given the university's strong commitment to net-zero and the fact that our high-performance computing facility will be used for climate research, we were happy to find a partner with a clear focus on environmental sustainability and the capability and maturity to deliver."

Dr. Emma Barnes, head of research IT at the University of York added that sustainable research IT is "a key principle of the University of York." "In addition to optimizing the performance of both hardware and software, we need to look at the environmental impact of our work. We have to ask ourselves how we can contribute to positive change by making our supercomputing part of the 'Green HPC' movement."

“When the University of York visited our facility in Falun to learn more about how we construct data centres and how we view the role of data centres in society and the circular economy, we found a common agenda in accelerating the green transition in digitalisation. The collaboration has already started, and we are seeing even more universities interested in what we can offer,” commented Dan Andersson, CEO at EcoDataCenter.