The Home of Leonardo
Construction of the Cineca data centre at the Bologna Technopole
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 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.
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