Data Centres

The 29.4MW KR1 Gangnam Data Centre is open

Empyrion Digital's first data centre in South Korea.

Paul Mah

Paul Mah

— 2 min read
The 29.4MW KR1 Gangnam Data Centre is open
Photo Credit: Empyrion Digital

Last week, Empyrion Digital held the grand opening of its KR1 Gangnam Data Centre in South Korea. And this is one modern facility. Here's what I know.

I had so much to cover, I put off Empyrion Digital's grand opening of KR1 last Wednesday. And it is one impressive data centre.

KR1 data centre

The KR1 Gangnam Data Centre is located in Gangnam in the economic hub of Seoul. Here are some quick details about this greenfield data centre:

  • 9-storey building.
  • 29.4MW of IT power.
  • 15 kN/m2 floor loading.
  • 30,714 sqm of colocation space.
  • Built to resist magnitude 7.0 earthquakes.

KR1 is the first data centre built in Gangnam in a decade. There are several reasons for this:

  • Land scarcity and high costs.
  • Multiple regulatory hurdles.
  • Power supply limitations.

In my opinion, fortuitous timing and KR1's strong focus on energy efficiency and support for AI tipped the situation in Empyrion Digital's favour.

Designed for green

So what makes KR1 so special? When I spoke with CEO @Mark Fong earlier this year, Empyrion Digital's focus on green jumped out at me.

For cooling, KR1 uses:

  • StatePoint Liquid Cooling (SPLC) system.
  • Air-cooling using fan wall systems.

Other green highlights of KR1:

  • Rooftop solar panels.
  • Rainwater management system.
  • Use of eco-friendly construction materials.

I was told that the team is also working towards achieving South Korea's equivalent of the Green Mark certification.

SPLC

The use of SPLC deserves a special mention.

The StatePoint Liquid Cooling System (SPLC) is an advanced evaporative cooling system invented by Meta and Nortek.

  • It combines a liquid-to-air membrane exchanger with a closed-loop system to improve energy efficiency and reduce water consumption.
  • Water is cooled as it evaporates through a membrane separation layer to produce cold water. I was told that the membrane is very affordable.

In Singapore, only Meta's 150MW data centre and the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed (STDCT) use the SPLC.

You can see the SPLC and membrane in my post of the STDCT here: go.techstories.co/JL2v.

AI-ready

I understand that KR1 is AI-ready with a ceiling height of between 7 and 8 metres, which should offer ample space to support AI workloads comfortably.

  • Selected data halls are already fitted with piping for direct-to-chip; others are engineered for conversion as required.
  • Power at 10kW per rack but additional available on request; 4.2MW is available per floor.

Overall, KR1 is a modern data centre located at a strategic location for hyperscalers, content delivery networks, and enterprises.

Read more