Red Dot Analytics Pte Ltd (RDA), a spin-off from Nanyang Technological University Singapore, and STACS, a Singapore-headquartered FinTech company, have joined forces in order to transform Singapore’s data center business and create a sustainable digital future.
The platform from RDA and the ESGpedia from STACS, which power the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Greenprint ESG Registry, will jointly power the partnership. The companies will work together to create a complete solution for data center owners and operators that will increase energy efficiency, decarbonize operations, and secure the ESG finance required for their sustainability journey.
Approximately 7% of Singapore’s electricity was said to be used by the data center industry, and if present growth trends continue, that percentage will reach double digits by 2030. Due to this, a ban on new data center construction has been imposed until 2019. It will be lifted after the new data centers can demonstrate their sustainability by working with locally developed technologies in Singapore.
Regulations are Pushing the Industry to Go Green and Reduce Carbon Emissions
A pilot program for the industry was introduced earlier this year by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Economic Development Board (EDB) with the goal of enabling the “calibrated and sustainable growth” of data centers in Singapore.
The Singapore authorities are looking for applications with creative proposals as part of the pilot, and they have specified that all of the applications must have a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of less than 1.3 and Platinum certification under Singapore’s BCA-IMDA Green Mark for New Data Center (‘GM-NDC’) criteria.
In line with this goal, ESGpedia, a central repository of comprehensive data and certifications, will assist data centers in obtaining the Green Mark certification. RDA will support the data center industry on its path to a PUE of less than 1.3.
Data Center Industry Common Register of Carbon Emissions and Certifications
RDA offers enterprise-level services, such as by utilizing its award-winning digital twin and artificial intelligence capabilities, the DCWiz platform helps enterprises track and effectively manage their greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in more sustainable data center infrastructures.
RDA is a leader in “cognitive digital twin” technology, which allows it to create a virtual replica of a real-world system that can take in large amounts of data and simulate the effect of any changes to a system before they are made to the physical system. This technology is backed by ten years of research at Nanyang Technological University (‘NTU’) in Singapore.
RDA’s DCWiz uses predictive AI-powered algorithms to digitize data center operations and estimate how much energy will be used. Through technical integration with ESGpedia, this partnership gives data centers greater visibility of their ESG data and carbon emissions via a common, standardized platform, which in turn empowers financial institutions to better manage their green portfolio on an ongoing basis and make better ESG financing decisions, ultimately facilitating the mobilization of green capital for the industry.
According to Dr. Wen Yonggang, Red Dot Analytics chief scientist, rapid technological advancement and shifting consumer habits have been harming the environment for far too long. RDA can solve a piece of the issue, and they expect that by partnering with STACS ESGpedia, they will be able to help their clients progress even farther on their sustainability journeys, which will increase their value proposition.
For Benjamin Soh, Co-Founder and Managing Director at STACS, they are thrilled to be collaborating with Red Dot Analytics through ESGpedia to support the decarbonization of Singapore’s data center industry in line with the country’s objective of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Singapore is the long-standing data center hub of Asia Pacific, accounting for 60% of data center capacity in the region. Thus, the adoption of such green digital technologies can ensure that Singapore maintains its competitiveness while at the same time helping to address concerns of environmental sustainability within the industry.
