Macquarie unveils plans for 200MW data centre campus as AI fuels demand
The company is pitching the facility for high-performance workloads and sovereign infrastructure.
Macquarie Technology Group is set to develop a new ~200MW data centre campus in Macquarie Park after committing $240 million for a 34,200sqm parcel of land as AI and cloud drive demand for digital infrastructure.
“AI needs the right compute and data centre infrastructure to run it,” said David Hirst, CEO, Macquarie Data Centres, who also stressed the importance of local capacity.
“All digital infrastructure that house Australian data and IP should be housed in sovereign data centres to ensure they are protected by local laws,” he added.
The campus will be purpose built for high-performance compute workloads to expand its services for hyperscalers, neoclouds, government and enterprises across Australia. “We have a strong track record supporting a huge range of customers in these spaces already, including 42 per cent of Federal Government,” Hirst said.
The new centre continues the company’s campus-style approach that incorporates research and hands-on learning. It also builds on the partnership with Macquarie University that provides students and academics with access to new technologies and collaboration with industry. There are also plans to develop a new park, community garden and art gallery within the development.
Macquarie said designs are subject to obtaining planning and other approvals, and will be refined based on customer requirements, power approvals, construction staging and funding.
It comes as there’s a growing focus on data centre power and water requirements, although Macquarie is confident in power approvals for this forthcoming facility.
“We have been part of the Macquarie Park community for over 16 years, with a strong track record of securing the required power approvals. Our recent facility, IC3 Super West 47MW, is opening with all the end-state power approved and fully energised,” he told CRN Australia.
The company plans to design the facility to minimise heat creation and water usage.
“It’s intended that the proposed facility’s design incorporates advanced air-cooling, closed-loop technology for its primary heat rejection, minimising operational water consumption, while also being designed to support high-density direct-to-chip liquid and air cooling within the data halls,” Hirst explained.
The initial construction is expected to be completed in late 2029 and will extend the company’s data centre offering as it competes with other operators.
“What sets Macquarie apart from other data centre operators is that we have the longest uptime track record out of any other commercial data centre operator and we are the most certified, as well as being a sovereign data centre provider,” Hirst said.