ABB delivers state of the art technologies to Italy’s most innovative data center from market leader, Aruba

ABB has completed the first delivery of medium-voltage switchgear and control gear for the Global Cloud Data Center created by Aruba, Italy’s leading company in the sector. Situated in Ponte San Pietro, in the province of Bergamo, the Global Cloud Data Center is the largest data center campus in Italy.

Central to the infrastructure that underpins our increasingly digitalized world, energy intensive data centers such as the modular site in Bergamo, which can grow with the needs of its customers, demand outstanding levels of reliability and uninterrupted power supply, something which ABB has extensive experience in delivering.

The Data Center Campus, which offers tailor-made colocation solutions ranging from rack units to dedicated data centers, covers some 200 thousand square meters. 90 thousand square meters are occupied by buildings designed to meet and exceed the maximum levels of resilience established by ANSI/TIA 942-A Rating 4.

Powered by 100 percent renewable energy sources including hydroelectric and photovoltaic energy, the data center has been designed to minimize environmental impact without impairing either reliability or performance. Two separate multi-modular power centers with UPS (uninterruptible power supply) featuring 2N + 1 redundancy and protected by ABB’s Emax air circuit breakers, are capable of supplying the entire data center for 15 minutes, well beyond the 30 seconds required to switch-in redundant emergency generators, with over 48 hours of full-load autonomy.

ABB also supplied low- and medium-voltage switchgear, the majority of which feature ABB’s Relion® 615 series protection relays, and TRIO three phase string inverters for the solar power distribution system. Leading-edge apparatus of this kind provides important benefits for customers like Aruba. Designed to communicate among themselves and with the BMS (building management system), ABB switchgear supports the most up-to-date plant monitoring and control methods, are extremely flexible and fit for all applications where hydroelectric and photovoltaic energy is self-generated. Using the same type of switchgear also facilitates maintenance, staff training and the management of replacement parts.

To date, 73 UniSec medium-voltage panels have been delivered. The flexibility and modularity of the UniSec panel’s Switch Fused Cable (SFC), Hybrid Breaker Cable (HBC), Switch Disconnector Cable (SDC) and Direct Riser Cable (DRC) units allow for quick and simple switchgear extension, which enables them to grow with the needs of the data center.

Ensuring effective, accurate protection in all rooms, ABB’s Tmax XT molded-case circuit breakers with electronic release have been installed in the room switchboards while ABB’s CMS-700 (circuit monitoring system) multi-channel energy monitoring system, with an integrated web-server, enables Aruba to get clear visibility of energy consumption of individual branch load circuits, facilitating early detection of potential issues before they lead to service interruptions or load failures.

“We design our sites ourselves and have now acquired a great deal of experience,” affirmed Alessandro Bruschini, Infrastructure manager at Aruba. “We also designed the BMS. This is the third Italian Data Center and is the largest technological campus in Italy. We called for tenders for the more important apparatus in the second one, after which we chose ABB. The excellent results we obtained from that project encouraged us to proceed in the same direction, but on a larger scale. The fourth data center in Rome will soon be underway.

”Our relations with ABB’s engineering and after-sales service staff have been excellent and we have received ongoing support. For us, continuity of service comes first: we also want efficiency, but never to the detriment of continuity. Thanks to the upgraded medium-voltage part of this site, where the ABB Relion® relays installed dialog with both the system and among themselves, we were also able to add a further logical dialog level to the BMS to manage events. Protection and monitoring are total: from the low-voltage main-row switchgear to power centers and medium-voltage switchgear. Naturally, everything is accessible remotely and visible from the BMS and other sites. We are now beginning to explore the subject of ‘predictive maintenance,’ which will also involve the BMS"

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in power grids, electrification products, industrial automation and robotics and motion, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner in ABB Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com