How Aligned is delivering adaptive data centres at scale and pace, while offering mission-critical stability for customers.

Aligned saw that with traditional cooling systems, faults would occur and this became the driving force behind the push for future-proofing. “With our Delta Cube arrays, we’re able to start off with a customer at a low density, which today averages about five to 10 kW per rack. However, the way that our mechanical structure is deployed enables that customer to then scale up, or in place, without having to maneuver or adjust their infrastructure. They then typically scale to anywhere from the 10kW up to 50 kW a rack. We can incrementally add capacity quickly, and our customers never have to worry about looking for a new space. We call this capability Expand on Demand.”

At the core of Aligned’s bespoke approach is its proprietary cooling technology – Delta CubeTM and CACTUS®. “It could not be any more flexible,” confirms Coleman. “For higher densities than 50 kW per rack, it is also easily integrated with liquid-cooled solutions. The industry really hasn't standardised around anything, so whatever we do right now will not be a catch all. It would be a unique deployment for an individual customer, which we could accommodate.”

Aligned’s electrical topology, and how it deploys power, is based around a standard offering which is also incredibly flexible. “Many of our customers might have some core systems that require more robust electrical reliability. They might have an N+1 environment for the production equipment and network gear, or more critical systems that are usually deployed in a smaller footprint. These might need to be more robust, whether it's two-line or double-corded, even with our standardisation around our design, we can easily accommodate those adjustments because of the way that we designed the physical infrastructure.”

Aligned has the ability to offer any type of renewable energy to its customers. In the U.S., more often than not, this green energy is brought in via the utility, but Coleman notes that some of Aligned’s customers are investing directly into wind farms and solar that support their local grid. “Taking this approach, you're shaping and leading the power. We have experience doing this and are happy to work with them.”

The company’s green approach extends to its cooling system, which is capable of operating using 80% less energy and 85% less water than traditional cooling systems. “There's the Delta Cube, and we also have a proprietary chiller that we develop and manufacturer – the CACTUS,” reveals Coleman. “The chiller itself runs predominantly on 100% outside air when conditions allow (when dewpoint is low and temperature is in the right range). It’s not until we see adverse conditions, which are not consistent annually, that we activate the adiabatic cooling in the chiller, which does not run all the time.” Coleman notes that adiabatic cooling runs for a fractional number of hours a year compared to the outside air. “When dewpoint becomes an issue or humidity is a little higher and adiabatic isn't effective, we do have a traditional cooling system that can kick in as well, so we really have all conditions covered.” He maintains the system is designed to run on 100% outside air as much as possible and that reduced energy and water consumption is driving the industry-leading 1.15 PUE that Aligned operates at.

Aligned typically partners with the top five contractors in the U.S. data centre market, drawing on the technical expertise of those who have heavily invested in the talent needed to support mission-critical projects. “Very often, we're partnered with a large general contractor to establish the original building,” confirms Coleman. “The other reason is the pace that we build at, nine or even six months in some cases, requires enormous cashflow efforts, and a very large workforce. We have a handful of both capital and construction partners capable of supporting that. Once the site is established and you've got iterative work, whether it's multiple additional buildings on the site or additional build down to the shell, we've developed partnerships locally. The local MEP contractors and subcontractors are critical alliances for us moving forward to continue the expansion of our operations and be good partners to the communities we work in.”

Aligned’s recipe has resulted in some notable successes. “I'm very impressed with our first building in Salt Lake City. That was a brownfield conversion of a chip plant where we were able to purchase and retrofit the building, as well as get customers deployed there in under a year; that's almost unheard of in our industry,” says Coleman. “Similarly, based on the way that our infrastructure is designed, we were able to complete our first phase of capacity in Ashburn in about six months, which is the fastest I think I've ever seen. Both amazing accomplishments for us.”

Aligned recently secured a $575mm credit facility, which will further support its goals for 2020 with expansion of its adaptable colocation and build-to-scale solutions at current campuses; Salt Lake City and Phoenix expansions are already underway. “We can achieve whatever our customers need. We're not capital constrained, our partners’ infrastructure funds are not looking for quarterly earning updates and requirements back on their investment. We have the ability to accomplish anything our clients need, which makes the road ahead truly exciting.”