Fujitsu has revealed its involvement in a near-zero emissions data centre developed by the German electricity provider WestfalenWIND IT.
The computing firm has provided the server and storage technology, housed in a wind turbine, for the project, which is being used by Fujitsu SELECT Partner Green IT – Das Systemhaus (Green IT) to provide cloud services to customers.
As part of WestfalenWIND IT’s WindCORES initiative, the innovative three-tier data centre is part of Germany's mission to migrate to a sustainable energy supply, without compromising on services for businesses demanding highly scalable and efficient cloud systems.
Naturally, the data centre relies on energy produced by the wind to power its servers and equipment, significantly offsetting the carbon footprint of businesses wanting digital transformation.
“Businesses increasingly expect their suppliers to be innovative both in terms of the services they offer and how they deliver them,” Dave Hazard, vice president and head of channel and sales operations at Fujitsu EMEIA said.
“By working with Fujitsu to co-create a solution based around virtualised services run from the eco-friendly WindCORES data centre, Green IT can stay true to its environmentally-friendly values while providing choice and cost-effective solutions to its customers. The company is at the forefront of service providers creating a new ‘green cloud’.”
WestfalenWIND IT chose Fujitsu’s PRIMERGY servers and ETERNUS storage to minimise power consumption. Used alongside effective power management AC-DC converters and green cooling technology, the data centre offers a near-zero carbon footprint.
“There is plenty of space inside many wind turbine towers for IT and Infrastructure equipment – enabling the low-emissions distributed data centres of the future,” Dr. Gunnar Schomaker, co-founder of the WestfalenWIND IT Group, said.
“With WindCORES, providers like Green IT, are able to offer a new differentiated portfolio of cloud services to their customers, who also benefit from low power costs and sustainability, plus a reduction in their overall carbon footprint.”