Summary
- Construction has begun at NorthC's 4.5MW Meyrin facility.
- The development will provide capacity in 1.5MW increments and support direct liquid cooling.
- Completion is expected during the second quarter of 2028.
NorthC has started construction of a 4.5MW data centre in Meyrin, Geneva, progressing a modular development intended to provide additional Swiss colocation capacity from 2028.
The project is located at The Hive technology campus on Route du Nant-d’Avril and will provide approximately 5,400 square metres of floor space. NorthC plans to introduce IT capacity in three 1.5MW increments, with overall construction completion expected during the second quarter of 2028.
The company initially outlined the development in January 2026. Its latest construction milestone confirms that work has begun on the physical facility, rather than representing a new proposal or a completed opening.
NorthC has specified a waterless cooling arrangement, support for direct-to-chip liquid cooling and backup generators designed to operate on HVO100 fuel. The company also plans to use renewable electricity and identifies a designed power usage effectiveness of no more than 1.2.
That efficiency figure is a design target, not a measured operating result. Actual performance will depend on the IT load, cooling configuration, external temperatures and the way the building is operated after commissioning.
The phased capacity model allows electrical and mechanical infrastructure to be deployed alongside customer requirements. Each additional 1.5MW increment will require the associated distribution equipment, cooling systems and operational arrangements to be completed and tested before entering service.
Introducing capacity in defined modules can reduce the need to install every element of a campus at the beginning of construction. However, common infrastructure may still need to be designed for later phases, particularly where electrical connections and heat rejection systems serve multiple modules.
The use of waterless cooling addresses a growing concern surrounding the consumption of freshwater by data centres. Unlike cooling arrangements that depend on evaporation to reject heat, waterless systems can operate without continually consuming water through cooling towers.
Eliminating routine cooling water use does not eliminate the energy requirement for heat rejection. Fans, pumps, chillers or other mechanical equipment may still be required, and the electricity consumed will vary with conditions outside the facility.
Direct-to-chip liquid cooling support introduces another design consideration. Cooling liquid is circulated close to heat generating components, transferring thermal energy away from processors and other selected equipment before that heat is rejected through the building’s cooling infrastructure.
Although liquid cooling can handle concentrated heat loads, not every component within a server is necessarily connected to the liquid circuit. Facility designs must therefore account for residual air cooling, coolant distribution, maintenance access and appropriate leak management.
NorthC’s decision to accommodate this technology from the outset may reduce the modifications required to host higher density computing equipment. The operator has not disclosed a uniform maximum rack density or stated that all future customer equipment will use direct liquid cooling.
HVO100 provides an alternative fuel option for backup generation. The environmental characteristics of the fuel depend on its source and production, while the generators must continue to meet operational requirements for starting, loading and supporting the facility during a power supply interruption.
The Meyrin location also provides proximity to the Greater Geneva business and research community, including CERN. NorthC describes the facility as carrier neutral and intends to provide access to regional connectivity infrastructure.
These characteristics form part of its commercial proposition, but the development must first progress through equipment installation and commissioning. The current milestone establishes construction activity, while the schedule for the first operating module will determine when additional IT capacity becomes available to customers.
