Wartsila and Schneider Electric Join Forces to Create a New Back-up Power Solution for Data Centers

Wärtsilä and Schneider Electric have signed a global co-operation agreement to bring together their individual products and services, along with those of third parties, for the purpose of co-operating on data center projects. The co-operation focuses on hyperscale data center projects with at least a 10 MW electrical load.

The technology group Wärtsilä and Schneider Electric have signed a co-operation agreement in Helsinki in December 2017. The objective of the cooperation is to work together to open markets for innovative data center energy optimization solutions. Wärtsilä’s responsibility in the co-operation is to provide a power generation plant, whereas Schneider Electric focuses on energy distribution optimization.

Both Wärtsilä and Schneider Electric are global leaders in their respective fields. Wärtsilä is a global leader in advanced technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the energy markets, while Schneider Electric leads the digital transformation of energy management by offering world-leading power management and automation systems, and providing integrated efficiency solutions by combining energy, automation, and software. Additionally, Schneider Electric’s best-in-class data center physical infrastructure solutions set them apart, continually pushing to develop and deploy technology and solutions like this one to advance the industry. Wärtsilä’s gas-fired engine power plants provide a new, alternative energy source for data centers. Schneider Electric provides a specific solution for distribution network management and power management in medium voltage, low voltage and secure power, and grid automation and via its IT infrastructure solutions.

By collaborating in the field of data centers, the two companies will be able to propose optimised, cost-effective end-to-end data center power plant architectures, providing a reliable and secure power generation and distribution system including full renewable back-up power. The gas generator based back-up power system has a fast start-up time of only 40 seconds.

Wärtsilä’s medium speed internal combustion engines offer highly efficient, sustainable and cost-effective power compared to traditional back up diesel generators.  Redundant engine capacity can be used to sell electricity to the grid, opening a new business model for data center operators. Thanks to the efficiency of the gas engines, they provide power to the data center at a lower price than grid electricity. Switching to natural gas can also significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a data center. 

“Data center operators will benefit from this collaboration so that they will be able to achieve a major reduction of their carbon footprint, save data center energy costs, and obtain financial returns with smart power generation assets”, adds Javier Cavada, President, Wärtsilä Energy Solutions. 

“Innovating with a strong partner like Wärtsilä drives us at Schneider Electric to deliver the most advanced and sustainable end-to-end solutions for energy management at data centers and power plants. With the end-customer’s needs in mind, we are confident that mutual value is created every step of the way in a potential market that wants to optimize existing assets, remain operationally efficient and contribute to climate-friendly solutions”, says Frederic Godemel, Energy SVP, Schneider Electric.