Google, AdaniConneX's data centres to use air cooling: How this project could transform Vizag into a global AI hub

AdaniConneX and Google plan three air-cooled data centre campuses in Visakhapatnam, with capacity of about 1 gigawatt. The design aims to keep freshwater use below the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool and avoid discharging treated wastewater into Mudasarlova Reservoir.

AdaniConneX's planned data centre campuses in Visakhapatnam, being developed in partnership with Google, will use air-cooled systems to eliminate the need for water-based evaporative cooling and keep freshwater consumption across three sites to less than the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, according to the project details cited by PTI.

The campuses at Mudasarlova and Tarluvada are part of a proposed data centre development with a capacity of about 1 gigawatt, as Visakhapatnam seeks to emerge as a major hub for artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.

Unlike conventional data centres that use evaporative cooling systems and cooling towers, the proposed facilities will rely on air-based cooling technology, avoiding the large volumes of water typically consumed by such systems, PTI reported citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

However, there will still be some requirement for freshwater, and 80 per cent of this requirement will be used for landscape irrigation and flushing. No treated wastewater will be discharged into the Mudasarlova Reservoir, PTI reported citing sources.

The measures are intended to reduce the campuses' impact on local water resources, including the Mudasarlova Reservoir and the adjoining Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary.

Capacity and scale of the project

The proposed data centre, which is to be made with a $15 billion USD investment from Google, making it the company's largest investment in India,

The planned hub is designed around three datat data centre campuses, with capacity planned at approximately 1 gigawatt (GW). AdaniConneX and Nxtra by Airtel are key infrastructure partners.

How Vizag could become a major AI hub

With PTI inputs

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