Digital transformation of energy management and automation Schneider Electric has partnered with Nairobi-based IXAfrica Data Centres to launch what they call East Africa’s first and largest hyper cloud data centre.
The power train for the new Tier 3+ facility is built around Schneider Electric MV and LV switchgear.
Nicknamed “NBOX1,” the new development is a carrier-neutral, AI-ready data centre, which will be used to deliver customer and user experience to facilities in North America and Western Europe.
To ensure power quality and reliability, IXAfrica turned to Schneider Electric to provide the power train solution including power protection and distribution equipment, together with transformers, MV and LV switchgear, and a basic BMS for monitoring the solution.
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Schneider Electric worked with local consultants Prisma Techniques to ensure that the power train solution met the design objectives provided by FutureTech on behalf of IXAfrica.
The equipment is engineered to meet IEC standards as well as local requirements imposed by the nature of Kenya’s national grid, and environmental considerations such as weather conditions and Nairobi’s high altitude.
The new data centre is "EcoStruxure-ready," with components of the installed EcoStruxure for Data Centers platform solution including:
Galaxy VX modular 3-phase UPS with Li-ion
PDUs
LV and MV Switchgear
“The solutions provided by Schneider Electric are engineered to support N+1 redundancy with four independent power trains, meeting IXAfrica’s immediate and long-term objectives, including design 1.25 PUE across the campus, as well as a 99.999% uptime guarantee,” says Schneider Electric country president in East Africa Ifeanyi Odoh.
Backed by a US$50 million capital investment from investment firm Helios, IXAfrica’s new data centre is positioned amid Africa’s growing technology epicentre, the so-called “Digital Savannah”—serving a population of over 300 million and supports an ecosystem for innovation which includes a skilled workforce, cloud and content providers, and colocation and connectivity services.
“Kenya is a hyper cloud-ready region with advanced cloud adoption propensities, a digitally savvy ecosystem, access to diverse internet fibre connectivity, high-availability and low-carbon sources of power,” says IXAfrica CEO Snehar Shah.
“This all sits within a country offering a stable regulatory and political environment, and a strong economy forecast to grow 5.2% in 2024.”