The new initiative provides support for Digital Realty’s circular economy and sustainability commitments, increasing resilience and accelerating decarbonization. The project builds upon their 20-year expertise in data center partnerships and aligns with the ESG values of both companies to reduce electronic and electrical waste, as well as upstream and downstream Scope 3 emissions.
The new battery rejuvenation pilot project being carried out in 2025 also aims to help Digital Realty extend the lifespan of their existing UPS batteries.
Schneider Electric, a leader in digital energy management and automation, has partnered with Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), the world’s largest provider of interconnection, colocation, and cloud-neutral data center solutions, to implement an innovative circular economy initiative at their PAR6 data center in Paris.
The goal of the project is to prolong and maintain the critical systems at PAR6, including their low-voltage (LV) and medium-voltage (MV) Schneider Electric equipment, switches, and three-phase uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, in line with Digital Realty’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments.
This includes the ability to reuse key parts of their infrastructure and electrical components, while initiating new collection, recycling, and refurbishment programs to help reduce the company’s electronic and electrical waste, Scope 3 emissions, and the elimination of high-impact greenhouse gases, such as SF6. Additionally, this innovative initiative, which includes a pioneering battery rejuvenation assessment plan in the sector to extend the life cycle of their VRLA UPS batteries, will adhere to circular economy principles. The intention is to create a roadmap that allows Digital Realty to replicate, implement, and expand their circularity initiatives across all their centers in Europe.
In the next 3-5 years, it is expected that the circularity project will help Digital Realty save and avoid between 50% and 70% of the embedded carbon in their LV, MV, and three-phase UPS equipment, while extending the equipment cycles and improving their environmental impact.
“We are constantly adapting our strategy and operations to meet the challenges of sustainable development: circularity of equipment, in this case electrical equipment, is one of the main levers to decarbonize our activities and value chain. This is where our collaboration with Schneider Electric, a partner for over 20 years, makes complete sense,” said Fabrice Coquio, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Digital Realty in France. “Being a good global citizen is not only the right thing to do, but it makes business sense, and as we move forward, our ambition is to help customers meet and exceed their environmental goals by leveraging our services.”
“The partners of the future”
In late 2022, Digital Realty engaged Schneider Electric’s Secure Power, Sustainability, and Circular Economy divisions to commission a new circularity consulting study detailing a series of recommendations and sustainability improvements at their PAR5 data center, the infrastructure identified for the first phase of testing and analysis.
Starting with their electrical distribution systems and UPS, Schneider Electric conducted a detailed analysis of Digital Realty’s PAR5 infrastructure, gathering benchmark data and exploring new ideas to accelerate their decarbonization commitments. Following the analysis, Schneider Electric applied each of the different use cases to key circular economy principles, including maintenance programs, reuse, refurbishment, and recycling, and provided Digital Realty with a new and improved circularity strategy that calculated the anticipated business and environmental benefits, including a reduction in costs, carbon emissions, fluorinated gases, and electronic waste.
The strategy also includes a four-step implementation approach that will digitize, prolong, refurbish, and reuse their critical equipment with the help of local partners, and includes the responsible withdrawal, replacement, and disposal of their physical infrastructure assets. This approach allows Digital Realty to modernize and reuse parts of their three-phase UPS, while carrying out progressive upgrades, condition-based maintenance, and digitalization as part of their EcoStruxure Service Plan.
In its initial months, the circularity project has saved 3.7 tons of CO2 through the modernization, refurbishment, and replacement of their UPS equipment. Further emissions savings are expected through the deployment of Schneider Electric’s SF6-free medium-voltage electrical switchgear SM AirSet, which uses air and vacuum technology to provide data center operators with increased sustainability, efficiency, and electrical safety.
“With European data centers reaching record growth driven by AI adoption, it is imperative that operators across the region explore and innovate their sustainability approaches,” said Marc Garner, Senior Vice President, Secure Power division, Schneider Electric, Europe. “As we look towards the future and digital demands proliferate, it is vital that technological advancement goes hand in hand with circular economy principles, ensuring we build the data centers of the future responsibly for the next generation.”
More results from Digital Realty’s circular economy project will be announced in 2025.
About Digital Realty
Digital Realty brings together businesses and data by offering a full range of data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL®, the company’s global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data hub and a proven data center architecture solution methodology (PDx®) to drive innovation and effectively manage the challenges of data gravity. Digital Realty offers its customers access to connected data communities that matter to them with a global footprint of over 300 data facilities in more than 50 metros across more than 25 countries on six continents.