Fast-growing Vantage builds second Johannesburg data centre

Vantage Data Centers, a fast-growing global provider of hyperscale facilities, has commenced construction of a second campus in Johannesburg.

Vantage operates across five continents and has evolved data centre design to scale as quickly as the market demands.

Called JNB2, its new Isando campus is located in Ekurhuleni, the greater Johannesburg metro’s trade and industry hub, and approximately 17km from Vantage’s JNB1 Midrand campus. JNB2 is sited near the OR Tambo International Airport and less than t2km from the NAPAfrica neutral Internet eXchange. The region serves as the cloud on-ramp for several large technology companies.

JNB2 will be operational in mid-2024.

“South Africa continues to be a cornerstone for Vantage’s EMEA growth outside of continental Europe,” says Antoine Boniface, president of Vantage Data Centers for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “Investing in a second campus is a testament to our commitment to the region and our customers who have business requirements to be in this high-demand market.”

The first building of the JNB2 campus will consist of a 20MW, two-story data centre covering 33,000 square metres. Vantage is repurposing a portion of an existing warehouse for the initial phase, reducing the carbon footprint of the development.

Vantage says that many features of JNB2 are based on its standardised campus blueprint, emphasising sustainable construction practices. This includes offering renewable energy options through a recent Power Purchase Agreement with SolarAfrica, limiting carbon footprints, maintaining energy efficient operations with an industry-leading power usage effectiveness (PUE), and minimising the use of water.

The first data centre on the JNB2 campus will be cooled using a highly efficient, closed-loop chilled water system generated through air-cooled chillers. An integrated economiser capability will allow reduced compressor energy based on outside ambient temperature. This allows Vantage to take advantage of cooler seasonal temperatures to minimise resource usage.

Power is provided by the municipality of Ekurhuleni, combined with a dedicated on-site, high-voltage substation.

Security measures include an on-site security operations centre with 24x7x365 patrols, perimeter security, CCTV on all access points, and multi-level authentication and access controls for employees, customers and visitors.

The company opened its first South African 16MW facility in Midrand in July 2022, and continues expanding the development. It currently stands at 80MW campus , and the next phase is expected to be operational in early 2024.

For more information, visit https://vantage-dc.com/data-center-locations/.