The Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (ESIF) has acquired a majority stake in Lefdal Mine Datacenter (LMD), a “green” data center based in an underground mine in Norway, that uses cold sea water from an adjacent fjord for cooling and renewable energy to power its operations.
ESIF is an open-ended, evergreen fund that invests in European mid-market equity assets.
Following the deal, Rittal, a subsidiary of the German industrial family business Friedhelm Loh Group, will remain a minority shareholder.
Operational since 2017, the facility boasts 75 underground halls, with data center containers parked in former mine workings that are accessed by underground roads. The center benefits from high-density data capacity and has a market-leading total cost of operation, and it services clients with high-performance computing workloads, hyperscalers and customers looking for colocation solutions.
The data center market is set to grow
