Yondr has opened the first phase of a new data center in Slough, West London, with 20MW of capacity.
The plan is to ultimately increase the size of the development to at least 100MW, making it the largest data center campus in Slough.
With construction having started in 2022, the building is Yondr's first completed data center in the UK and will be capable of 30MW; a second building is already under construction and will add a further 30MW of capacity.
The project is on track to achieve Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) 'Very Good' certification, says the firm, thanks to a number of design and specification innovations.
Yondr is also using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) rather than diesel in the backup generators, bringing lower carbon emissions.
"The success of this project is testament to the hard work and resilience of Yondr and our partners. We are immensely proud of our team's dedication and expertise in delivering this hyperscale data center project," said Peter Hill, Yondr's vice president of design and construction, EMEA.
"The handover of our first UK data center is a major milestone, not just for our Slough campus and Yondr, but for the UK's data center ecosystem as we respond to the global challenge of increasing data capacity."
The Slough project is one of six active sites around the world for Yondr, as the firm aims to establish a hyperscale portfolio across EMEA, APAC, and North America. It currently has data centers either under development or already in operation in Frankfurt, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Northern Virginia, Indonesia, Japan, and India.
"Our proven track record of delivering reliable and resilient hyperscale data center capacity around the world has made us a valued partner for our clients," said Paul Hood, COO of Global Data Center Operations.
"We are looking forward to entering the operational phase for this facility while progressing construction on the Slough campus concurrently with our other projects around the world."
How many data centers are in Slough?
Slough has become a major location for data centers, thanks largely to its good transport links and fast fiber optic connections. It currently has more than 30 sites in operation.
In recent months, Equinix has announced plans for a new data center on the site of a former paint factory in the town, while earlier this month Digital Realty bought an existing site, building on its existing facilities in the City of London and Docklands. Virtus Data Centres already operates a site in the town and is opening another in nearby Saunderton.
And with the new Labour government's recent announcement that it plans to be more open to new data center development in the UK, the amount of development in the area is only likely to increase.
