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The Home of Leonardo

Construction of the Cineca data centre at the Bologna Technopole
EPC Contracting
Customer Cineca
Where Bologna, Technopole
Solution General Contracting
Sector Data center
Target achieved Leed Platinum Certification

Cefla, as project leader, in association with DBA Group for design and Gruppo ICM for construction, has built “The Home of Leonardo”, one of the world's most powerful supercomputers, as part of the ambitious Data Valley development project in Emilia Romagna.

Strengths

coordination of players in the field, as the project leader

 

design and construction of technological systems

 

partnership with the customer to achieve the target in an impressively short timeframe

Key Numbers

10 MW

energy requirement

340 t

total hardware weight

12

transformers present

2,5 MW

single transformer power

Background

The systems, technologies and services required for a data centre that houses a supercomputer with a computing power of 250 petaflops and a storage capacity of 100 petabytes are considerable and require extensive, proven and advanced expertise. This is undoubtedly why Cefla was chosen by Cineca to implement the complex technological systems and coordinate the entire project as lead partner, together with partners DBA Group and Gruppo ICM.

The project to transform a former tobacco factory into a major scientific centre of excellence in supercomputing brings together some of the world's most powerful infrastructure in an area of approximately 100,000 square metres.

Challenges

In addition to leading the temporary association of companies formed to carry out the project and coordinating the bulk of the works, the implementation of highly environmentally sustainable solutions was required, optimising consumption and minimising management costs.
Equally important was the need to ensure that all equipment could be fully inspected. Along with standardising components, ensuring reliable operation and versatility of use for the data centre, achieving prestigious certifications was another objective set by the client.


 

Project Tasks

Cefla played a key role in the construction of the data centre, installing all the electrical and mechanical systems and building the room that houses Leonardo, a single 1,000 m2 space made of reinforced concrete to ensure maximum seismic and fire resistance.
Leonardo requires 10 MW of power, managed by 12 2.5 MW transformers and 6-tonne MV switchboards. A total of approximately 5 km of piping was laid to ensure the cooling of the racks. 95% of the cooling is provided by water maintained at 32 °C by adiabatic dry coolers. The remaining 5% of the load is handled by the room's air conditioning system. The use of dry coolers eliminates the need for low-temperature fluids, while the dynamic set point regulates the temperature according to operational requirements. Twin chiller units ensure redundancy, with separate circuits for tempered water (36-46°C) and chilled water (19-26°C).. Maximum use of heat recovery and free cooling contributes to a very high seasonal PUE.
Cefla built the rooms for transformers, MV switchboards, chiller units with related rooms for electrical switchboards, water treatment plant, heat recovery circuit, water mist fire extinguishing system, and installed dry coolers on the roof.

Implementation

The entire project was completed on schedule, despite the discovery of a Roman necropolis, which slowed down construction works.

From the laying of the first pipe for the cooling system in March 2022 to the moment Leonardo was switched on for the first time, approximately six months passed, during which four heat dissipation units, four tunnels connecting the cooling units to Leonardo's room, four refrigeration units, 12 dry coolers, 12 transformers, 8 UPS units and all auxiliary services were implemented.

Leonardo is powered exclusively by renewable energy. The data centre in the former Manifattura Tabacchi in Bologna has obtained important certifications, including:

  • - ANSI/TIA 942 rating 4 for infrastructure;
  • - ISO 50001 for energy management;
  • - LEED Platinum for sustainability, a result recently achieved with the support of Macro Design Studio.

 

Gallery

Cineca - La casa di Leonardo
Cineca - La casa di Leonardo
Cineca - La casa di Leonardo
Cineca - La casa di Leonardo
Cineca - La casa di Leonardo

+2

Cineca - La casa di Leonardo
Open the gallery (8 foto)

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