Trio studies Singapore floating data park, LNG power

Keppel Data Centres said on Monday it has signed deals with Australia-based Toll Group and Dutch Vopak to study the feasibility of developing a floating data park and LNG-to-power infrastructure in Singapore.

Under the memorandum of understanding, Keppel Data Centres and Toll Group will explore the development of a near-shore floating data centre park at the Toll Group-operated Loyang offshore supply base.

In addition, Keppel Data Centres and Vopak will conduct a feasibility study and assess the commercial viability of establishing LNG and possibly hydrogen infrastructure for power and cooling plants.

These plants will form part of the floating data park development at the Loyang base, Keppel Data Centres, which is a unit of Keppel Corp, said in the statement.

Keppel Data Centres says the exploration of hydrogen infrastructure is part of the company’s strategy to work towards the decarbonisation of its operations.

With the growing global demand for data centres, Keppel Data Centres’ floating data park concept is an “environmentally-friendly and resource-efficient way” to meet the expanding needs of the digital economy, it said.

Data centres consume significant amounts of energy for cooling purposes, especially in the tropics.

A floating data centre utilises seawater for cooling and is “much more energy efficient” than conventional land-based data centres, the statement said.

It also avoids the use of potable or industrial water in cooling towers, which typically results in significant water loss through evaporation.

In addition, floating data centers free up valuable land for other urban uses, making it a particularly attractive proposition for land-scarce cities, the statement said.

The floating data centre park is “envisaged to be the first-of-its-kind in Singapore, and is envisioned to optimise energy usage by integrating LNG and possibly hydrogen infrastructure for onsite power generation”.

This would also eliminate reliance on the national grid.

Furthermore, the adjacent LNG and possibly hydrogen infrastructure will potentially allow floating data centre parks to tap on cold energy generated from LNG regasification to supplement the cooling load, the statement said.