AirTrunk Opens AI-ready Data Centre in Johor

Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) hyperscale data centre specialist, AirTrunk has commenced operations in Malaysia, following the official opening of its flagship Malaysian 150 megawatt (MW) hyperscale data centre in Johor Bahru, named AirTrunk JHB1 (JHB1).

The company held an official opening event attended by Malaysian and Australian government officials and key AirTrunk partners, including Malaysia’s Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Liew Chin Tong; Chairman of Johor State Investment, Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee, Lee Ting Han and Australia’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Her Excellency Danielle Heinecke. Also in attendance were distinguished guests from the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Invest Johor, Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Iskandar Puteri City Council, the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission and Tenaga Nasional Berhad.

More than 50MW of capacity will be available for its major technology clients during the first stages of JHB1. AirTrunk’s company-wide commitment to maintaining the highest standards of safety at its construction sites is reinforced by the development’s completion in more than 4 million work hours without any significant safety incidents.

Positioned strategically in Johor Bahru, at the southernmost point of the Malay Peninsula, JHB1 covers an area of more than 10.3 hectares. The data centre, which services a significant cloud availability zone, provides robust local and global connectivity with an end-to-end cross-border connection strategy to nearby Singapore and other regional technology hubs.

In addition to being one of the most energy-efficient data centres in the nation with an industry-low design Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.15, the brand-new, cutting-edge facility boasts an AI-ready architecture with AirTrunk’s first direct-to-chip liquid cooling technology deployed alongside conventional indirect evaporative cooling (IEC) and high-density racks. By using this innovative method, energy consumption can be decreased by up to 23%. Five years of research and development later, in July 2024, the company introduced its liquid cooling approach.

In order to connect JHB1, AirTrunk collaborated with Malaysian utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), with an emphasis on expediting the energy transition and bolstering energy reliability. This comes after the two companies inked an MOU in 2023 to further the energy transition in the area.

Under Malaysia’s Corporate Green Power Programme, AirTrunk also announced earlier this year the first Virtual Power Purchase Agreement for renewable energy for a data centre with 30MW of renewable energy, with developer ib vogt. The allotment was the most that a single developer with a secured offtaker could have. Moreover, JHB1 has a solar-ready roof that can supply more than 1MW of power during this phase, making it the largest data centre in Southeast Asia with an on-site solar deployment.

“The quick and safe delivery of JHB1 is a crucial step in the adoption of AI in Malaysia and AirTrunk’s growth as a trusted partner for our customers in the APJ region,” stated Robin Khuda, founder and CEO of AirTrunk.

“With a commitment to innovation and sustainable growth, combined with a program of investment in energy availability and renewable electricity, Malaysia is fast becoming a key tech hub in the Asia Pacific & Japan regions. Through our long-term investment in Malaysia, we are able to support our customers as they grow at speed and implement groundbreaking solutions like liquid cooling, at scale, in order to catalyse sustainable cloud and AI development.

AirTrunk’s Head of Malaysia Pei Jet Lim said: “AirTrunk is making a positive contribution to the local economy through supporting and developing local talents and delivering critical digital infrastructure. The new data centre supports the rapid growth of cloud and AI in Malaysia and aligns with the MADANI Government’s initiative to establish AI hubs in the country. We are making a long-term commitment to further engage with the local community to build a full AI ecosystem in Malaysia. The long term and predictable demand from JHB1 also provides the stability to underpin investment in the energy grid and initiate multiple green energy developments.”

JHB1 is a part of the premier data centre platform for Asia Pacific and Japan offered by AirTrunk, which consists of 11 locations with a combined capacity of over 1.4 gigawatts (GW) to meet the region’s growing demand from international tier one technology companies.