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Initial $5m investment in Nautilus Data Technologies will support Ireland’s development as a leading global data centre and clean tech hub
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Fund partners with prominent innovation and sustainable investors Emerson Elemental, Singapore’s Keppel Group and other private clean tech investors in a $26m (€22m) funding round
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Investment will be used to advance cutting edge green technology for ultra-efficient, water-cooled data centres, which can be situated either on waterborne barges or on land adjacent to a large water source, and to commence the construction and operation of new modular data centres in Ireland and for global markets
The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund has announced an investment in Nautilus Data Technologies, Inc., a California-based global pioneer in highly efficient and environmentally sustainable data centres. This significant investment in the clean tech sector will support the establishment of Nautilus’ commercial operations in Ireland, with the aim of constructing a new generation of leading edge data centres in Ireland for use in the Irish and global markets.
The Fund has invested $5m alongside other major investors taking part in a c.$26m (€22m) equity funding round.
Nautilus’ award-winning technology delivers a dramatically reduced environmental footprint at a substantially lower cost, when compared with existing facilities, through enhanced energy efficiency, virtually no usage of water, water treatment chemicals, or potent greenhouse gas refrigerants, and greatly reduced carbon emissions and air pollution. These green data centre projects will serve leading Irish and international technology companies and consumers of data services around the world.
Paul Saunders, ISIF Head of Innovation and Special Investments, “Ireland is home to some of the world’s biggest data centres and is well placed to become a global leader in innovative data centre technology. This investment demonstrates the Fund’s ability to back cutting-edge, clean technology that will place Ireland at the forefront of data centre design. We are excited by Nautilus’s ability to substantially reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of data centres. It’s a great example of the Fund’s “double bottom line” mandate of generating a commercial return in addition to supporting economic activity and employment in Ireland.”
The investment will enhance Ireland’s existing leadership position and support of advanced IT infrastructure. It is expected to create manufacturing, operational and professional services jobs in the information technology, maritime, construction, financial, legal, marketing and real estate sectors.
At full capacity, the first Nautilus data centres to be built in Ireland are expected to generate up to $40m (€34m) of revenue annually, and this investment will position Ireland to pre-fabricate modular data centres for sale into global markets.
The Fund is co-investing alongside world class investors Emerson Elemental and Singapore’s Keppel Group and other private clean tech investors to provide Series C funding to Nautilus.
James Connaughton, President and CEO of Nautilus Data Technologies, “Nautilus Data Technologies, Inc. is honoured to have the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund as an investor in our company. As a clean tech businessman, a market driven environmentalist and a first generation Irish-American, I am personally proud to be part of Ireland’s growing global leadership in technology innovation, advanced workforce capability, and environmental sustainability.”
Nautilus’s strategy is to use its patented, highly-efficient water-cooling technology and data centre design to substantially improve energy and resource efficiency in data centres, and save customers money. Its technology eliminates the large volumes of water and chemical consumption associated with traditional data centre construction and operations, delivering significant cost savings alongside substantial environmental benefits.
