Sustainable future

One of the most eco-efficient data centers in the world

Reducing CO₂ emissions is a globally critical target, on which the location of the EuroHPC machines has a huge impact, as supercomputers consume plenty of electricity. CSC’s data center in Kajaani, the green home of LUMI, is one of the most eco-efficient data centers in the world. The data center has an abundant supply of low-price and environmentally-friendly renewable power: LUMI’s energy consumption is covered by 100% renewable electricity. The benefits of the location also include close proximity and easy connectivity to the district heating network: waste heat utilisation further reduces costs and CO₂ footprint. LUMI’s waste heat is used to heat up hundreds of households annually in the city of Kajaani. Additionally, LUMI’s carbon footprint has been brought to minimum by choosing a brownfield solution and energy-efficient systems in the construction phase.

Kajaani, the green home of LUMI

LUMI is located in north-eastern Finland in the city of Kajaani. Finland is one of the best locations for data centers since it has low operating costs, safe environmental and political conditions. In addition, the total electricity cost for industries is one of the lowest in Europe. Finland is known as a pioneer in telecommunication and internet technologies and Finland is a low-risk area in terms of geographical and weather risks. Additional advantages of the area include:

• The data center area has a ready-built electrical infrastructure of up to 230 MW and an on-site national grid connection with access to hundreds of MWs more
• Abundant sources of 100% renewable, carbon-neutral energy
• Free cooling is possible all year round
• Possibility to utilize waste heat in the district heating network of Kajaani
• Extremely reliable power grid
• Kajaani is an operator-neutral location and part of the Nordic research network. The area has multiple physical connectivity routes and is perfectly positioned for the “Far North Fibre project”
• High security and safety standards: ISO 27001 safety standards
• The fenced data center area offers ideal physical security with no natural risks or hazards for data center operations

Impactful research and innovation activities

A wide range of science cases are progressing daily on the LUMI system, achieving ground-breaking research results in physics, AI and large language models, and molecular dynamics, just to name a few examples.

Furthermore, LUMI has a positive carbon handprint, meaning a positive impact on climate and the environment through the green research and innovation it enables. As a key computational platform of the European Commission’s flagship Destination Earth initiative, LUMI supports critical projects, including Climate Change Adaptation, Extreme Weather, and Biodiversity digital twins. These digital twins empower researchers to deepen their understanding of climate change, enhance predictive models, develop adaptation strategies, and promote biodiversity conservation. Through initiatives like these, LUMI enables insights essential for a more resilient and sustainable future.

The transition to GPU architecture also saves energy, a fact which delights researchers using LUMI.

– Faster calculations also mean considerable energy savings. For years I have felt bad thinking about how much environmental resources supercomputers require, but now working on one of the most environmentally friendly supercomputers in the world, means this is a great weight off my mind says Maarit Korpi-Lagg, from Aalto University.

Have a look at the video: CSC’s sustainable data center in Kajaani, Finland:

Green500 list rankings through the years

LUMI was ranked third on the Green500 list, published on 30 May 2022, and seventh on the Green500 list on 14 November 2022, 22 May 2023 and 13 November 2023, and twelfth on the list published on 13 May 2024.

Award-winning data center

Read also:

LUMI Receivers Honors in 2023 HPCwire Readers’ Choice Awards

LUMI data center receives the Green Data Center of the Year award

LUMI Receives Honors in 2022 HPCwire Readers’ and Editors’ Choice Awards

LUMI won the Best Sustainability Innovation in HPC award at the 2021 HPC Wire Readers’ and Editors’ choice awards