Zurich, Switzerland, May 30, 2012 - ABB, the leading power
and automation technology group, and Green, one of the top
information and communications technology (ITC) service
providers in Switzerland, today announced the official
opening of Green's new Zurich-West data center expansion
based on direct current (DC) technology.
Green's facility, which employs HVDC-capable HP servers, is
the most powerful application of DC in a data center to
date. Performance tests showed that Green's new power
distribution system is 10 percent more efficient than for
comparable alternating current (AC) technology. In
addition, investment costs for the system were 15 percent
lower than for an AC system.
With the addition of almost six million new servers every
year, data center energy demand is increasing at a rate of
more than 10 percent annually, requiring more efficient and
reliable solutions. DC systems are less complex than AC
systems, making fewer power conversions. This requires as
much as 25 percent less space, and reduces equipment,
installation, and real estate and maintenance costs.
"Across all our business areas, customers are asking for
improved reliability and energy efficiency, and DC power is
an effective solution," said Tarak Mehta, head of
ABB's Low Voltage Products division. "Zurich West will
serve as a global showcase to demonstrate that DC is a
complementary technology in data centers as it enhances
reliability while minimizing footprint, installation and
maintenance costs."
"The implementation of 380 volt DC technology in our data
center is part of our long-term energy optimization
strategy, a big step that has set a new standard in the
industry," said Franz Grueter, CEO of Green. "When fully
loaded, the system will result in energy savings of up to
20 percent in power consumption from grid to chip and in
cooling."
ABB installed the one megawatt DC power distribution
solution for the 1,100 m2 expansion of the 3,300 m2
Zurich-West data center. It was engineered to Green's
strict ecological standards by ABB with support from
Validus DC Systems, an ABB company, and includes a service
level agreement.
The project underlines ABB's goal to create new power
options through expanded DC applications. The company
pioneered technologies that made conversion between AC and
DC systems possible and was the first to commercialize long
distance high-voltage DC power transmission. ABB is now
applying DC to medium- and low-voltage applications in
electric vehicle charging, power distribution systems on
ships, in building and in data centers.
HP provided the HVDC-enabled IT for this technology
showcase, including servers and storage, such as the HP
X1800 G2 Network Storage System, HP DL385 servers, and the
HP BladeSystem c3000. These systems represent the beginning
of HP's strategy to enable the enterprise IT portfolio with
support for high-voltage DC.
"Green was looking for an IT partner that could
provide HVDC-enabled IT solutions to meet its specific
data-center needs," said Ron Noblett, vice president,
Infrastructure and Storage, HP. "At the heart of
HP's Converged Infrastructure strategy is our
commitment to develop new energy-saving technologies that
can lower data-center capital costs, as well as ongoing
operations costs and complexity."
ABB (
www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation
technologies that enable utility and industry customers to
improve performance while lowering environmental impact.
The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries
and employs about 145,000 people.
Green Datacenter AG ( www.greendatacenter.ch)
provides data center services for mid-size and large
companies in Switzerland, Europe and worldwide. The
recently opened greenDatacenter Zurich-West is
Switzerland's first Tier III certified data center. A
greenfield approach enabled Green Datacenter to build a
state-of-the-art, highly secure and energy efficient data
center for the most demanding needs.
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