More cloud - less power and water
OVHcloud, which has deployed its proprietary water-cooling technology at scale since 2003 and whose services run more than 43 data centres globally, says it has already achieved a lower PUE – averaging 1.26 across its fleet.
The key, says Maiolo, lies in OVHcloud's approach to cooling: tackling heat directly at the server component rather than chilling the entire room.
'Instead of using traditional air-conditioning, we use a proprietary water-cooled 'thermoblock' that sits directly on heat-generating components like the chip,' he says. 'The water runs in a closed loop, cooling the component without evaporating. This means we use a fraction of the water of traditional evaporative systems.'
That engineering distinction has yielded outsized results.
OVHcloud's water usage effectiveness (WUE) stands at 0.37 – 5 times less water usage than our competitors – a significant benefit in water-stressed regions like Southeast Asia.
It's also had a downstream impact on footprint and density. With no need for wide air gaps between servers, OVHcloud says it can stack more computing capacity into a smaller area, improving resource utilisation while reducing land and materials use.
Beyond efficiency, the company also touts its vertically integrated supply chain as a sustainability advantage. Unlike many operators who buy and deploy pre-assembled servers, OVHcloud manufactures its own racks and cooling components in facilities in France and Canada. That allows for tighter control over design, logistics and re-use.
'When a server reaches end-of-life, it's not discarded,' Maiolo says. 'We bring it back to our factories, dismantle it, and recover anything that can be re-used. It's a closed-loop approach.'
That ethos has led the company to set ambitious targets: zero waste to landfill by 2025, Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 73.4 per cent by the same year, and Scope 3 emissions reduction by 52 per cent by 2030.
OVHcloud, meanwhile, insists that sustainability does not have to come at a cost.
'There's a perception that doing the right thing has to be expensive,' Maiolo says. 'But because we use less power, less water, and make more efficient use of space, we're actually able to deliver a strong performance-to-price ratio. It's not an either-or: our customers get the best of both worlds.'
That cost-benefit equation may prove pivotal as companies weigh cloud strategies under growing ESG scrutiny.
'The reality is that businesses still need to meet performance expectations and show fiscal responsibility to shareholders,' Maiolo says. 'With our model, they don't have to compromise on either.'
Broader industry efforts are also gaining momentum.
The Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, an initiative co-founded by OVHcloud and backed by the European Commission, commits operators across Europe to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.
Targets include a PUE of 1.3 for new data centres in warm climates, matching 100 per cent of electricity demand with renewables by 2030, and ensuring that all used servers are assessed for re-use or recycling.
The pact, which counts more than 100 signatories, signals a growing recognition that data centre sustainability needs collective action – not just innovation by individual providers.
'As workloads surge with AI, digital infrastructure has to scale responsibly,' said the Pact in a recent white paper. 'Efficiency, circularity and transparency will be critical for aligning the cloud with Europe's climate goals.'
That transparency extends to measurement, too.
OVHcloud now offers customers a carbon calculator that breaks down emissions by server type, location and usage – a tool Maiolo says is proving useful for enterprises reporting on their own ESG metrics.
While much of the attention remains on headline tech trends, Maiolo believes sustainability will soon become a key differentiator in cloud procurement.
'It's already happening in markets like Singapore, where regulation is tight and resources are finite,' he says. 'But increasingly, we're seeing that sustainability is not a nice-to-have – it's a business imperative.'
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News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Rio stays the course on lithium as it looks to rejuvenate iron ore business
Outgoing Rio Tinto boss Jakob Stausholm says Rio remains committed to its lithium strategy Mining giant just opened newest iron ore operation in WA's Pilbara CEO denies being nudged by board as he says company leaders are aligned on ESG and operational improvements The head of the world's second biggest miner Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) says its board remains aligned on a counter-cyclical push into lithium as CEO Jakob Stausholm denied speculation that friction with the company's board was behind his decision to resign this year. Stausholm's near five year tenure at Rio followed the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock cave in the Pilbara under his predecessor JS Jacques, an act that led to Jacques' resignation and steered the $150bn miner on a course to prioritise its ESG commitments. In that time, its new investments have focused in two areas, replacement mines to address declining iron ore quality at its flagship Pilbara operations and M&A to become one of the world's largest lithium producers. The latter has come under the microscope amid Stausholm's surprise exit, with lithium prices crashing to four year lows after Rio's entry as a producer via its $10 billion takeover of Argentine brine producer Allkem. Speaking at the opening of Rio's first of five major replacement iron ore mines due in the next five years – the 25Mtpa Western Range with Chinese steel giant Baowu near Paraburdoo – Stausholm said Rio's board remained aligned on its lithium strategy. "The lithium strategy we are absolutely aligned about in the whole board. This is a next pillar," he said. "Think about it like some visionary people 50-60 years ago said Rio Tinto should go into iron ore. "We need to think about the future to the next decade and the next decade. And we are lucky that we have built now a portfolio of outstanding brine resources in Argentina, in Chile. " It's going to complement our – what I would call signature – business here of iron ore for the future." Grade control Under Stausholm, Rio has cleared a number of social licence hurdles in its WA heartland culminating in an agreement this week with the PKKP group, the very Traditional Owner group devastated by the 2020 demolition of Juukan Gorge. It will be a key stakeholder for the US$1.8bn Brockman Syncline 1, the next replacement mine approved for the ~40Mtpa Brockman hub, one of a number of developments that will cost Rio in the order of US$13bn to deliver in the coming years. Western Range is a milestone in that it marks the first new operation delivered by Rio's iron ore division since Juukan Gorge (its Gudai-Darri mine was under construction at the time), and the first to a mine plan co-designed with the TO group, the Yinhawangka People. But Rio's iron ore division has been, quite literally, degrading. 2023 and 2024 marked long time highs for iron ore production at 331.8Mt and 328.6Mt, making Rio the largest exporter of hematite iron ore in the world. But costs have been escalating at a faster rate – on reported numbers at least – than its peers BHP and Fortescue. While BHP and FMG reported C1 cash costs of US$17.50/t and US$19.17/wmt in the first half of FY2025, Rio's unit cash costs came in at US$23/t in CY24. Its 2025 numbers will likely be higher at a guided range of US$23-24.50/t. And while 62% Fe Singapore iron ore futures are sitting at US$95.55/t, Rio's realisation to the benchmark price has been slipping. It notified customers that during the September quarter the spec grade for its Pilbara Blend product will drop. Fastmarkets this week introduced a 61% Fe Index to reflect the lower quality product Pilbara miners are now shipping. It will likely take until the end of this decade, when Rio delivers the higher grade Rhodes Ridge mine, for its grade to recover. Speaking at the Western Range opening, Stausholm denied any rift with new chair Dominic Barton, nor that the miner's focus on ESG under his leadership had clouded its dedication to operating performance. "We are absolutely aligned. It's very important to say we in the management team and the whole board (are) absolutely aligned around the values of Rio Tinto about pursuing the four objectives, about our strategy and the strategic choices and about the assessment of our performance," Stausholm said. "So there is no disalignment. "We are absolutely aligned. It's very important to say we in the management team and the whole board (are) absolutely aligned around the values of Rio Tinto about pursuing the four objectives, about our strategy and the strategic choices and about the assessment of our performance," Stausholm said. "So there is no disalignment. "If you look at my statements at the full year results, I said exactly the same thing because we have under the four objectives, made a lot of progress on rebuilding trust in the company, working towards impeccable ESG credentials, improving how we execute projects. " This project is an example. This project is on time, on schedule. "We still have the potential to do in the best operator, our safe production system is really working. So I said that at the full year, and my chairman repeated that a couple of weeks ago." Steel on top The official opening of Western Range marked a second major development in the relationship between Rio and China's top steel producer Baowu in the Pilbara after the development of Eastern Range in the early 2000s. It followed Rio's landmark first deal with China's Sinosteel at the nearby Channar JV almost 40 years ago. Australia now ships over 900Mt of iron ore a year, the vast bulk of it (around 80%) to China, the world's largest steel producer. But as new, high quality ore sources are developed overseas – notably the high grade 120Mtpa Simandou project in Guinea in which both Rio and Baowu are invested – question marks are hovering over the centrality of the long-established "conveyor belt" between the Pilbara and Beijing to the steel supply chain. FMG chairman Andrew Forrest notably sounded the alarm in recent months over the emergence of new competitors to WA who could eat its golden goose. He is lobbying hard for the establishment of a domestic green iron industry. But Rio remains confident in the role Australian iron ore will play in the future, even in a decarbonising world where green steel technologies – not suited to low and mid-grade ores produced in the Pilbara – could dominate. "It is for us as companies to make sure that the Pilbara ore remains relevant," Stausholm said. "And how do we do that? We do that in partnerships like you see today with Baowu, working on how can we decarbonise the supply chain. " If you find the right solutions and we will, then Pilbara will be the source for many, many decades to come." Stausholm's departure comes as BHP is also rumoured to be looking for a new CEO to replace Mike Henry, and has a number of internal Rio candidates reputedly jostling for position, among them chief commercial officer Bold Baatar and local favourite Simon Trott, who helped open Western Range on Friday and runs the major's iron ore division out of its Perth office.
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4 days ago
- West Australian
Lindian puts the pedal down to develop Malawi rare earths project
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AU Financial Review
4 days ago
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More cloud - less power and water
OVHcloud, which has deployed its proprietary water-cooling technology at scale since 2003 and whose services run more than 43 data centres globally, says it has already achieved a lower PUE – averaging 1.26 across its fleet. The key, says Maiolo, lies in OVHcloud's approach to cooling: tackling heat directly at the server component rather than chilling the entire room. 'Instead of using traditional air-conditioning, we use a proprietary water-cooled 'thermoblock' that sits directly on heat-generating components like the chip,' he says. 'The water runs in a closed loop, cooling the component without evaporating. This means we use a fraction of the water of traditional evaporative systems.' That engineering distinction has yielded outsized results. OVHcloud's water usage effectiveness (WUE) stands at 0.37 – 5 times less water usage than our competitors – a significant benefit in water-stressed regions like Southeast Asia. It's also had a downstream impact on footprint and density. With no need for wide air gaps between servers, OVHcloud says it can stack more computing capacity into a smaller area, improving resource utilisation while reducing land and materials use. Beyond efficiency, the company also touts its vertically integrated supply chain as a sustainability advantage. Unlike many operators who buy and deploy pre-assembled servers, OVHcloud manufactures its own racks and cooling components in facilities in France and Canada. That allows for tighter control over design, logistics and re-use. 'When a server reaches end-of-life, it's not discarded,' Maiolo says. 'We bring it back to our factories, dismantle it, and recover anything that can be re-used. It's a closed-loop approach.' That ethos has led the company to set ambitious targets: zero waste to landfill by 2025, Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 73.4 per cent by the same year, and Scope 3 emissions reduction by 52 per cent by 2030. OVHcloud, meanwhile, insists that sustainability does not have to come at a cost. 'There's a perception that doing the right thing has to be expensive,' Maiolo says. 'But because we use less power, less water, and make more efficient use of space, we're actually able to deliver a strong performance-to-price ratio. It's not an either-or: our customers get the best of both worlds.' That cost-benefit equation may prove pivotal as companies weigh cloud strategies under growing ESG scrutiny. 'The reality is that businesses still need to meet performance expectations and show fiscal responsibility to shareholders,' Maiolo says. 'With our model, they don't have to compromise on either.' Broader industry efforts are also gaining momentum. The Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, an initiative co-founded by OVHcloud and backed by the European Commission, commits operators across Europe to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. Targets include a PUE of 1.3 for new data centres in warm climates, matching 100 per cent of electricity demand with renewables by 2030, and ensuring that all used servers are assessed for re-use or recycling. The pact, which counts more than 100 signatories, signals a growing recognition that data centre sustainability needs collective action – not just innovation by individual providers. 'As workloads surge with AI, digital infrastructure has to scale responsibly,' said the Pact in a recent white paper. 'Efficiency, circularity and transparency will be critical for aligning the cloud with Europe's climate goals.' That transparency extends to measurement, too. OVHcloud now offers customers a carbon calculator that breaks down emissions by server type, location and usage – a tool Maiolo says is proving useful for enterprises reporting on their own ESG metrics. While much of the attention remains on headline tech trends, Maiolo believes sustainability will soon become a key differentiator in cloud procurement. 'It's already happening in markets like Singapore, where regulation is tight and resources are finite,' he says. 'But increasingly, we're seeing that sustainability is not a nice-to-have – it's a business imperative.'
