PolarDC HER01 40MW AI Data Center Porsgrunn Norway

Status: Announced / Retrofit & Site Engineering Phase   |   Location: Herøya Industrial Park, Fjordgata 48, 3936 Porsgrunn, Telemark, Norway

Project Overview

PolarDC HER01 is an ultra high-density, AI-focused data center campus developed by Polar Data Centers at Herøya Industrial Park in Porsgrunn, Norway. Covering approximately 39,000 square meters through the adaptive reuse and redevelopment of the former REC Solar industrial premises, the facility is designed to support large-scale high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and deep learning workloads that require substantially higher rack densities than conventional enterprise environments. Rack power capacities exceeding 100 kW enable the deployment of advanced accelerated computing infrastructure, supporting demanding AI training, inference, and HPC applications within a purpose-adapted industrial setting. The facility is powered entirely by locally generated hydroelectric renewable energy, providing a direct source of low-carbon electricity for energy-intensive computing operations. Its cooling architecture combines direct liquid cooling with air-side economization, allowing the facility to manage high thermal loads while taking advantage of Norway's favorable ambient climate conditions. Waste heat recovery is also integrated with local industrial systems, creating a pathway for useful heat utilization and improving overall energy efficiency by linking data center operations with surrounding industrial demand. The development targets a power usage effectiveness of approximately 1.12, reflecting an infrastructure strategy focused on minimizing the additional energy required for cooling and facility operations relative to IT equipment consumption. The adaptive reuse of an existing industrial site also provides a development model that repurposes established infrastructure while supporting the expansion of advanced computing capacity. Its location within Herøya Industrial Park places HER01 within an established industrial ecosystem with access to local energy resources and industrial heat utilization opportunities. The combination of ultra-high rack density, renewable hydroelectric power, direct liquid cooling, air-side economization, waste heat recovery, and industrial-site reuse establishes PolarDC HER01 as a specialized platform for energy-intensive AI and HPC workloads.

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