Stuttgart, Germany – November 30, 2021
Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced that it will transfer Daimler’s High Performance Computing (HPC) workloads used to design vehicles and automated driving technologies to one of Europe’s greenest data centers, Lefdal Mine Datacenter in Norway. The shift to Green Data Center as a Service is an important milestone in supporting Daimler deliver on its sustainability mission “Ambition 2039” to become CO2 neutral by 2039.
Data centers currently account for around 1% of total global energy use and service demand is expected to increase 60% by 2022. As next generation technologies continue to develop, engineering and other high-performance workloads that run complex algorithms such as those required for simulating sensors and journeys for autonomous vehicles will be increasingly critical to automakers’ competitiveness in the mobility industry. Yet, these workloads are extremely energy consuming and contribute considerably to the carbon footprint of enterprises worldwide.
Building on its strategic partnership with Daimler to drive hybrid cloud-powered innovation and transform IT infrastructure, Infosys offered a solution to facilitate Daimler shift HPC’s to green infrastructure using Infosys’ Data Center as a Service (DCaaS) offering in the Nordics region. Through the initiative, Infosys will manage the IT infrastructure in its entirety and Lefdal Mine Datacenter will provide the facility, a world leading sustainable and energy efficient data center.
Norway is becoming a “superpower” for green data centers given that 100% of the power production in the region is renewable, and transmission loss reduced to a minimum. Lefdal Mine Datacenter offers one of Europe’s greenest data center solutions, supplying capacity that is both air-cooled and water-cooled.
The data center is situated in a mine next to a deep, cold fjord with a stable and low temperature for effective cooling. Compared to air cooled data centers, Lefdal Mine Datacenter is not affected by warm days, and doesn’t require evaporative systems for cooling, with water usage effectiveness also rated zero. This system leads to a PUE ranging from 1.10 to 1.15 depending on UPS configuration and scale of capacity. The data center offers a world leading location for HPC environments.
The Green Data Center is the latest addition to Infosys Cobalt Hybrid Cloud portfolio, a blueprint consisting of a combination of Regional Private Data Centers covering all major continents, Edge Data Centers and Hyperscalers. For Daimler, partnering with Infosys to reimagine its data center operations in Lefdal Mine Datacenter will have a significant impact in delivering on its sustainability goals, and demonstrates the huge opportunity for other organizations to benefit from the industry-leading offering.
Jan Brecht, Chief Information Officer, Daimler and Mercedes-Benz, said: “A large proportion of our IT energy consumption comes from our data centers which require significant power for computing and cooling. That's why we're transforming our data centers with the support of our partner Infosys, bringing particularly the high-performance computing into one energy efficient solution at Lefdal Mine Datacenter. Not only will we benefit from natural cooling thanks to the cold weather, our operations will also be run on 100% green energy. This initiative marks another important milestone on our journey to becoming Co2 neutral”.
Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys, said: “Infosys is a strategic partner to organizations navigating decarbonization and we are well positioned to deliver sustainable green transformation leveraging expertise gained from decade long efforts in environment stewardship. We pioneer projects around the world across every industry to facilitate climate change actions, developing solutions and services to help clients in their low-carbon transition. In delivering this transformation for Daimler we’ve shown how Green Infrastructure as a Service can radically reduce organizations’ impact on the environment and the vast potential for other organizations running high compute enterprise workloads to benefit from this industry-leading sustainability offering.”
Jørn Skaane, Chief Executive Officer, Lefdal Mine Datacenter AS, said: “We have built and operate a leading sustainable, secure and cost-effective data center – The Norwegian Solution. With short travelled renewable power and cooling from the nearby fjord, sustainability is in the core of our mission and values. Our ambition is to be the greenest data center in the world, with the ability to offer tailor-made and scalable data center solutions. We are inspired to have been chosen to host Daimler HPC workloads and will contribute for Daimler to become CO2 neutral.”
Jan Christian Vestre, Minister of Trade and Industry in the Norwegian Government, said: “I wish to congratulate the parties on reaching this important milestone. Lefdal Mine Datacenter, based on the reuse of industrial infrastructure and locally produced energy, is an excellent example of how Norwegian data centers and industrial knowhow can help industries of the future achieve their goals of decarbonization.”
Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients in over 50 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem.
Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.
Daimler AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With its Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans, Daimler Trucks & Buses and Daimler Mobility divisions, the Group is one of the leading global suppliers of premium and luxury cars and one of the world's largest manufacturers of commercial vehicles. Daimler Mobility offers financing, leasing, fleet management, investments and insurance brokerage, as well as innovative mobility services. The company founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history by inventing the automobile in 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Daimler sees shaping the future of mobility in a safe and sustainable way as both a motivation and obligation. The company's focus therefore remains on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior vehicles that both captivate and inspire. Daimler continues to invest systematically in the development of efficient powertrains – from high-tech combustion engines and hybrid vehicles to all-electric powertrains with battery or fuel cell – with the goal of making locally emission-free driving possible in the long term. The company's efforts are also focused on the intelligent connectivity of its vehicles, autonomous driving and new mobility concepts as Daimler regards it as its aspiration and obligation to live up to its responsibility to society and the environment. Daimler sells its vehicles and services in nearly every country of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. In addition to Mercedes-Benz, the world's most valuable luxury automotive brand (source: Interbrand study, 20 Oct. 2021), and Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-EQ and Mercedes me, its brand portfolio also includes commercial vehicle brands Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, FUSO, Setra and Thomas Built Buses as well as the brands of Daimler Mobility: Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Daimler Truck Financial and Athlon. The company is listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges (ticker symbol DAI). In 2020, the Group had a workforce of around 288,500 and sold 2.8 million vehicles. Group revenues amounted to €154.3 billion and Group EBIT to €6.6 billion.
Lefdal Mine Datacenter (LMD) is one of Europe's most sustainable data centers. The facility is located in Norway and is owned by the Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (ESIF), a mid-market infrastructure fund, and German Edge Cloud GmbH & CO KG, part of Friedhelm Loh Group, a German industrial conglomerate. The data center has a potential of 120.000 m2 of net whitespace and 200+ MW DC capacity. With 10 MW capacity already installed, LMD is one of the leading data centers in the Nordics. The mountain hall facility sets a new standard for the data center industry. LMD is unprecedented in terms of cost effectiveness, security, and flexibility. The large space, combined with modular design enables a unique time to market, and the combination of cheap and renewable power leads to predictable, low cost for customers.
www.lefdalmine.com and https://lefdal.netlify.app (360 tour)
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