Aust data centre plans major expansion

Australian data centre provider Macquarie Data Centres, part of Macquarie Technology Group, has announced a major expansion of its next data centre, IC3 Super West, in preparation for the nation’s rapidly rising demand for power- and data-hungry AI workloads.

The expansion gives IC3 Super West the potential to increase its IT load to 45 megawatts, a 41% increase on its original plans.

IC3 Super West will be able to support the high densities and multi-megawatt power requirements of new AI chip and server infrastructure. Macquarie Data Centres stated that the centre will also have the cooling requirements to match, by optimising the latest in both air and liquid cooling technologies.

“According to CSIRO, the Australian economy could gain AU$315 billion by 2028 through the integration of AI,” said Macquarie Data Centres Group Executive David Hirst.

“However, unlocking the full potential of AI hinges on the availability of advanced AI-ready data centres,” he added.

“To ensure optimal performance in training and inference of these AI models, we are designing our upcoming data centres to meet and surpass the demanding requirements for higher densities.”

IC3 Super West will be the third edition to the provider’s Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus in Sydney’s north-west. The increase in planned capacity will mean the total campus IT load could reach 63 MW.

Macquarie Data Centres’ ambitious growth plans were bolstered by an AU$160 million capital raise in June 2023. The data centre provider announced that the capital raise would be put towards its future-focused expansion strategy that involves acquiring sites in Sydney to accelerate growth and support the AI megatrend.

Image caption: Macquarie Data Centres’ IC3 Super West. Image: Supplied.