The Australian data centre industry is experiencing significant growth. This growth has been driven by rapidly increasing demand for cloud-based computing and storage, artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security and data sovereignty.

The strong market demand has attracted significant investments from large global providers as well as local operators, who have established large-scale facilities of up to 130MW+, with plans to further develop precincts up to 1GW.

 

Whilst local demand for capacity is growing, this poses serious challenges, including:

  • Procurement of suitable land at an acceptable cost.

  • Availability and capacity of critical utilities, like power and water.

  • Planning and development approval from local or state authorities.

  • Environmental noise impact.

  • Energy efficiency and sustainability.

  • Capacity of design delivery and construction partners.

  • Programming and procurement of long lead equipment.

  • Availability of raw materials and rapidly rising construction costs.

These challenges require holistic thinking across the full life cycle of data centre delivery. Our focus is to understand our client’s specific challenges, so we can utilise our expertise and critical thinking to provide the best possible outcomes.

Our approach for data centre projects incorporates:

  • Strategic planning and consultation.

  • Innovative and sustainable design.

  • Digital tools.

  • Execution and quality assurance.

Download our Data Centre Capability Statement here.

Data Centre Gallery
Stack Infrastructure (MEL01)

MEL01 is a 72MW hyper-scale campus comprising two 32MW data centres in West Melbourne. The site includes 38,000 sqm of technical areas, 4800 sqm of office space and hosts a dedicated on-site 66kV/11kV utility substation.

WRAP Engineering is undertaking building services documentation reviews, which include assessment of documentation, design and code compliance checks, risk analysis and suggested mitigations and corrections.

NextDC (M2)

NextDC M2 is a Tier IV certified data centre located in Melbourne with an IT capacity of 60MW across 25,000 sqm of technical areas, with future plans to expand to 120MW+.

WRAP Engineering undertook building services engineering design for the base building of M2 Stage 03, a four-storey mission critical operations building, which incorporated integration works to the wider campus.

Coles Energy Centre

A three-level energy centre at the existing Coles Head Office on Toorak Road. The work package looked to improve electrical supply arrangements to the Coles data centre to increase the level of redundancy and, ultimately, the availability.

WRAP Engineering undertook full building services design, including complex integration of the existing build via strong technical and digital delivery in order to successfully integrate of all facets of the facility.

 
 
 

ANIK AKHTER

Anik is the Data Centre Lead and an Associate Director at WRAP Engineering. His expertise in mission critical data centre developments spans over ten years in both Australia and New Zealand. An accomplished electrical engineer, Anik also has significant experience in managing the design and delivery of multi-disciplinary design teams working to tight timeframes. He is well-versed in the specific challenges that face data centre projects, particularly in the current Australian market.

Reach out to us now to discuss how Anik and WRAP Engineering can assist with your project.