Helsinki, Finland, 17th October, 2024, Helen Ltd and Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX, news, filings), the world’s digital infrastructure company™, are now using the excess heat of the HE5 Viikinmäki data center to provide heat to surrounding homes and businesses.
The project will increase the energy self-sufficiency of Helsinki and make it possible to heat numerous homes and business premises in the Helsinki region, paving Helen’s way towards the company’s carbon neutrality target for 2030 and the phasing out of combustion-based energy production in the 2030s. The excess heat collected from the data center can meet the annual heating demand of up to almost 1,500 one-bedroom apartments.
“Recycling is a smart choice, even in energy use. Now, more than ever, it is important to invest in both energy self-sufficiency and technology that promotes energy efficiency. Cooperation with Equinix provides an excellent opportunity to increase the amount of recycled heating for our customers by utilising our energy platform,” says Henrietta Lahti, Business Lead, Data Centers and Waste Heat Recovery Solutions at Helen.
In the project, a heat export system was implemented to harness residual heat from Equinix’s data center using heat pumps. The temperature of the heat energy generated in the data center is then raised by heat pumps operated by Helen and transferred to the district heating network, which is used to heat properties in the local area. The heat export system was ordered as a turnkey delivery from Oilon.
“There was a clear consensus between us and our partners, who represent the top expertise in their fields, on the objectives of the project, and our cooperation was seamless. Equinix’s modern and high-quality data center environment, combined with Oilon’s solid Finnish heat pump expertise and our own district heating solutions, ensures a functional solution that will benefit Helsinki residents reliably in the long term,” says Johannes Niittyniemi, Project Manager, Heat Recovery from Data Centers at Helen.
Equinix is committed to enabling sustainable growth of the digital economy. Cooperation with Helen will improve the energy efficiency of the data center for Equinix customers, while enabling Equinix to reduce its environmental impact while bringing low-cost renewable heat to the community.
Noah Nkonge, Heat Export Lead at Equinix said “Equinix is proud to be extending our longstanding partnership with heat network operator Helen to heat the equivalent of more than 1,000 homes in Viikinmäki. The heat from our HE5 data center will also cut the carbon footprint of residents by offsetting the need to burn fossil fuels for heating. Our second heat export project with Helen in Finland represents our commitment to developing heat export projects wherever feasible to benefit the communities where we operate.”
The excess heat of data centers is a key part of Helen’s transition towards a decentralised energy system where energy is produced, recovered and stored in multiple locations in an emission-free, renewable manner, ensuring the security of supply. Excess heat recovery also serves as one of the pillars as Helen progresses towards carbon neutrality and phases out combustion-based energy production.
About Equinix
Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX) is the world’s digital infrastructure company™. Digital leaders harness Equinix’s trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.
Helen Ltd
Helen Ltd helps to make everyday life a little easier for over 560,000 customers in Finland. In addition to heat, cooling and electricity, we offer solutions for regional and renewable energy and electric transport. We are developing a smarter, carbon-neutral energy system that enables everyone to produce, use and save energy with respect for the environment. We aim to achieve 100% carbon neutrality in our energy production by 2030. Let’s join forces and turn the opportunities of a new energy era into reality.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks to our business and operating results related to the current inflationary environment; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; stock price fluctuations; increased costs to procure power and the general volatility in the global energy market; the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX® and xScale® data centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix products and solutions; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenues from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; risks related to our taxation as a REIT; risks related to regulatory inquiries or litigation and other risks described from time to time in Equinix filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see recent and upcoming Equinix quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
Equinix Media Relations
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Helen Communications
viestinta@helen.fi
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