The Wellcome Trust to Invest in Green Data Center in Ásbrú
Verne Holdings has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement for an equity investment from the Wellcome Trust to fund the completion of the first phase of its Verne Global wholesale data center campus at Ásbrú, Iceland. With this investment, the Wellcome Trust, a medical research charitable foundation based in London with US$21 billion of assets and an Aaa/AAA credit rating, will become the largest shareholder in Verne Holdings, ehf.
"Large scale customers face a critical need to reduce substantially the power costs and carbon footprints of data centers," said Dominic Ward from the Wellcome Trusts Investments Division. "Verne Global is breaking new ground in using Iceland's natural green resources to mitigate both increasing emissions and rising energy costs."
The Wellcome Trust joins existing investors, General Catalyst and Novator. Verne Globals 44 acre data center campus is currently under construction on the former NATO Command Centre in Keflavik, Iceland now known as Ásbrú Enterprise Park. Verne Global is employing Iceland's diverse natural resources to offer data center customers free cooling and 100% renewable power from the region's abundant supply of geothermal and hydroelectric energy.
"What makes us unique is that we are able to offer our customers a cost effective, yet truly green solution to their data center needs by providing the benefits of Iceland's 100% free cooling, renewable energy resources and predictable forecasting of energy pricing," said Jeff Monroe, CEO of Verne Global. "Together, Verne Global and the Wellcome Trust are creating a powerful solution that enables data center users the opportunity to go green without paying a price premium."
The Wellcome Trust is the most recent foreign investor investing in projects around the Ásbrú Enterprise Park. Among other foreign investors in the area are Massachussets based General Catalyst (investing in the Data Center), Canadian energy investors Magma energy (investing in geothermal energy) and Nasdaq listed Century Aluminum (investing in Aluminum).
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