Floating data centers in the heart of cities? The bet of a French start-up

They often go unnoticed, only their large ventilation vents generally betray their presence. Essential to the development of our digital uses, data centers are more and more numerous on the planet, especially in large cities. A growth that poses an environmental problem, insofar as their computer servers, already very greedy in electricity, create heat and need to be cooled permanently to operate without damage. Companies are therefore seeking to solve this puzzle. This is the case of Denv-R, a Nantes start-up driven by two thirty-something entrepreneurs. Their idea? Use the freshness of a river, a river, even the ocean.

“We are going to recover the cold water from a river to lower the temperature of the data center via a closed circuit system. Without pumping water and without other air conditioning,” explain Vincent Le Breton and Maxime Rozier, co-founders of the company hosted on the premises of the engineering school. IMT Atlantic In Nantes. This process would “reduce energy consumption by 40% and C02 emissions by 40%. Not a small saving when you know that these sites are responsible for 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In cities, closer to users

For its innovation to be optimal, Denv-R does not imagine data centers installed on a quay but rather on the water, housed in a floating structure made of recyclable steel. “A data center should ideally be as close as possible to its users and therefore in towns. But in cities land is scarce and expensive. On the water, there is room. We don’t artificialise the ground, nor do we need to create a thick slab on an existing building,” says Vincent Le Breton.

10 m long and 8 m wide, this “small catamaran” would not be more than 3 m high, which would “facilitate its integration” into the urban landscape. “It’s a small solution (200 kW), robust and which can be deployed quickly, when there is a watercourse, insists the entrepreneur. Developing a network at the local level makes sense. Especially for us Europeans, who use a lot of American technology, so with data that doesn’t really belong to us anymore. »

On the Loire in 2023 to start

Supported by the Pays-de-la-Loire region, Denv-R will put a demonstrator in June 2023, on the Loire, quai Wilson in Nantes. A first version estimated at 900,000 euros, including 500,000 euros for manufacturing. “Our model is less expensive than a terrestrial data center. We will be able to receive orders fairly quickly, ”assures Vincent Le Breton, who ultimately aims for international deployment. At the same time, Denv-R, which will offer a commercial cloud activity from January, is considering a slightly larger floating structure that can accommodate offices. “We received a lot of expressions of interest from potential customers, especially for a network of several data centers”, assures Vincent Le Breton.

Outside Europe, the Californian company Nautilus Data Technologies is also working on a floating data center project. A first model is already operational, but from a much larger structure than that of Denv-R and therefore unsuitable for city centres. “Its cooling system also requires pumping large quantities of water, unlike us,” says Vincent Le Breton. As for Microsoft, it is working on data center projects placed in submerged boxes.

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