Danfoss – Danfoss, Google, Microsoft and Schneider Electric join forces in new Innovation Hub to accelerate green transition of data centers

EMR Analysis

More information on Danfoss: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Kim Fausing (President and Chief Executive Officer, Danfoss): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Jürgen Fischer (Member of the Group Executive Team (GET), President, Danfoss Climate Solutions, Danfoss): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

 

More information on Google: https://www.google.com/ + Our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

As our founders Larry and Sergey wrote in the original founders’ letter, “Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one. That unconventional spirit has been a driving force throughout our history, inspiring us to tackle big problems and invest in moonshots like artificial intelligence (Al) research and quantum computing. We continue this work under the leadership of Sundar Pichai, who has served as CEO of Google since 2015 and as CEO of Alphabet since 2019.

Alphabet is a collection of businesses – the largest of which is Google. We report Google in two segments, Google Services and Soogle Cloud, we also report all non-Google businesses collectively as Other Bets. Other Bets include earlier stage technologies that are further afield from our core Google business. We take a long-term view and manage the portfolio of Other Bets with the discipline and rigor needed to deliver long-term returns. Alphabet’s structure is about helping each of our businesses prosper through strong leaders and independence.

The Internet is one of the world’s most powerful equalizers, it propels ideas, people and businesses large and small. Our mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful is as relevant today as it was when we were founded in 1998. Since then, we have evolved from a company that helps people find answers to a company that also helps people get things done.

More information on Sundar Pichai (Chief Executive Officer, Alphabet and Google): https://blog.google/authors/sundar-pichai/ 

More information on JP Clausen (Vice President, Engineering and Data Center Innovation, Google): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jp-clausen-848ab64/ 

 

More information on Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com + Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft refers to Microsoft Corp. and its affiliates, including Microsoft Mobile Oy, a subsidiary of Microsoft. Microsoft Mobile Oy develops, manufactures and distributes Nokia X mobile phones and other devices.

More information on Satya Nadella (Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft): https://news.microsoft.com/exec/satya-nadella/ + https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyanadella/ 

More information on Sean James (Senior Director Datacenter Research, Microsoft): https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-james-6592524/ 

 

More information on Schneider Electric: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Peter Herweck (Chief Executive Officer, Schneider Electric): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Mic Seremet (Head of Global Platforms and New Business and Product Owner, Schneider Electric Kolding, Schneider Electric): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

 

More information on the Danish Data Center Industry (DDI): https://www.datacenterindustrien.dk/ + DDI provides an overview of the organizations who deliver cutting-edge solutions, products and services to the data center industry in Denmark and abroad. The primary role of our association is to make it easier for you to do business with us. We support the establishment of new business relationships nationally and internationally.

 The Danish Data Center Industry (DDI) is a not-for-profit industry body representing the Danish data center ecosystem, and was born out of the want to make it easier for operators to do business with Denmark. We focus on creating opportunities for private and public sector stakeholders, by promoting data center sustainability, skills, education and cross-sector collaborations. To date, both the private and the public sector in Denmark have very well received DDI with an ever-growing member community.

DDI works on strengthening the cooperation between private and public companies, since the flexible and smooth cooperation between public and private sector in Denmark is an important competitive advantage compared to many other countries.

More information on Henrik Hanson (Chief Executive Officer, DDI): https://www.datacenterindustrien.dk/organisation + https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrik-hansen-4a759a6/ 

 

More information on IEA (International Energy Agency): https://www.iea.org + The IEA is at the heart of global dialogue on energy, providing authoritative analysis, data, policy recommendations, and real-world solutions to help countries provide secure and sustainable energy for all.

The IEA was created in 1974 to help co-ordinate a collective response to major disruptions in the supply of oil. While oil security this remains a key aspect of our work, the IEA has evolved and expanded significantly since its foundation.

Taking an all-fuels, all-technology approach, the IEA recommends policies that enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy. It examines the full spectrum issues including renewables, oil, gas and coal supply and demand, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies, electricity systems and markets, access to energy, demand-side management, and much more.

Since 2015, the IEA has opened its doors to major emerging countries to expand its global impact, and deepen cooperation in energy security, data and statistics, energy policy analysis, energy efficiency, and the growing use of clean energy technologies. 

More information on Net Zero: https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050 + The number of countries announcing pledges to achieve net zero emissions over the coming decades continues to grow. But the pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world an even chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C. This special report is the world’s first comprehensive study of how to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050 while ensuring stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access, and enabling robust economic growth. It sets out a cost-effective and economically productive pathway, resulting in a clean, dynamic and resilient energy economy dominated by renewables like solar and wind instead of fossil fuels. The report also examines key uncertainties, such as the roles of bioenergy, carbon capture and behavioral changes in reaching net zero.

More information on Dr. Fatih Birol (Executive Director, International Energy Agency): https://www.iea.org/contributors/dr-fatih-birol + https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatih-birol/ 

 

 

 

EMR Additional Notes: 

• Cloud Computing:
  • Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the internet. … Cloud computing is a technology that uses the internet for storing and managing data on remote servers and then access data via the internet.
  • Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multiple locations, each location being a data center.
• Edge Computing:
  • Edge computing is a form of computing that is done on site or near a particular data source, minimizing the need for data to be processed in a remote data center.
  • Edge computing can enable more effective city traffic management. Examples of this include optimising bus frequency given fluctuations in demand, managing the opening and closing of extra lanes, and, in future, managing autonomous car flows.
  • An edge device is any piece of hardware that controls data flow at the boundary between two networks. Edge devices fulfill a variety of roles, depending on what type of device they are, but they essentially serve as network entry — or exit — points.
  • There are five main types of edge computing devices: IoT sensors, smart cameras, uCPE equipment, servers and processors. IoT sensors, smart cameras and uCPE equipment will reside on the customer premises, whereas servers and processors will reside in an edge computing data centre.
  • In service-based industries such as the finance and e-commerce sector, edge computing devices also have roles to play. In this case, a smart phone, laptop, or tablet becomes the edge computing device.
  • Edge Devices:
    • Edge devices encompass a broad range of device types, including sensors, actuators and other endpoints, as well as IoT gateways. Within a local area network (LAN), switches in the access layer — that is, those connecting end-user devices to the aggregation layer — are sometimes called edge switches.
• Data Centers:
  • A data center is a facility that centralizes an organization’s shared IT operations and equipment for the purposes of storing, processing, and disseminating data and applications. Because they house an organization’s most critical and proprietary assets, data centers are vital to the continuity of daily operations.
• Hyperscale Data Centers:
  • The clue is in the name: hyperscale data centers are massive facilities built by companies with vast data processing and storage needs. These firms may derive their income directly from the applications or websites the equipment supports, or sell technology management services to third parties.

 

• Grid, Microgrids and DERs:
  • The power grid is a network for delivering electricity to consumers. The power grid includes generator stations, transmission lines and towers, and individual consumer distribution lines.
  • The grid constantly balances the supply and demand for the energy that powers everything from industry to household appliances.
  • Electric grids perform three major functions: power generation, transmission, and distribution.
  • A microgrid is a small-scale power grid that can operate independently or collaboratively with other small power grids. The practice of using microgrids is known as distributed, dispersed, decentralized, district or embedded energy production.
  • Smart Grid is any electrical grid + IT at all levels . Micro Grid is a group of interconnected loads and DERs (Distributed energy resources) within a clearly defined electrical and geographical boundaries witch acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the main grid.
  • Distributed energy resources (DERs) are small-scale electricity supply (typically in the range of 3 kW to 50 MW) or demand resources that are interconnected to the electric grid. They are power generation resources and are usually located close to load centers, and can be used individually or in aggregate to provide value to the grid.
  • Common examples of DERs include rooftop solar PV units, natural gas turbines, microturbines, wind turbines, biomass generators, fuel cells, tri-generation units, battery storage, electric vehicles (EV) and EV chargers, and demand response applications.
  • Distributed energy resources management systems (DERMS) are platforms which helps mostly distribution system operators (DSO) manage their grids that are mainly based on distributed energy resources (DER).
  • DERMS are used by utilities and other energy companies to aggregate a large energy load for participation in the demand response market. DERMS can be defined in many ways, depending on the use case and underlying energy asset.

 

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2):
  • Primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil), solid waste, trees and other biological materials, and also as a result of certain chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement). Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere (or “sequestered”) when it is absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle.
• Decarbonization:
  • Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through the use of low carbon power sources, achieving a lower output of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

 

• Global Warming: Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.
• Global Warming potential (GWP): 
  • The heat absorbed by any greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, as a multiple of the heat that would be absorbed by the same mass of carbon dioxide(CO2). GWP is 1 for CO2. For other gases it depends on the gas and the time frame.
  • Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e or CO2eq or CO2-e) is calculated from GWP. For any gas, it is the mass of CO2 which would warm the earth as much as the mass of that gas. Thus it provides a common scale for measuring the climate effects of different gases. It is calculated as GWP times mass of the other gas. For example, if a gas has GWP of 100, two tonnes of the gas have CO2e of 200 tonnes.
  • GWP was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases.
• Greenhouse Gas (GHG):
  • A greenhouse gas is any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere. By increasing the heat in the atmosphere, greenhouse gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect, which ultimately leads to global warming.
  • The main gases responsible for the greenhouse effect include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor (which all occur naturally), and fluorinated gases (which are synthetic).

• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC):
  • Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a group of industrial chemicals primarily used for cooling and refrigeration. HFCs were developed to replace stratospheric ozone-depleting substances that are currently being phased out under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
  • Many HFCs are very powerful greenhouse gases and a substantial number are short-lived climate pollutants with a lifetime of between 15 and 29 years in the atmosphere.
• GHG Protocol Corporate Standard Scope 1, 2 and 3: https://ghgprotocol.org/ + The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard provides requirements and guidance for companies and other organizations preparing a corporate-level GHG emissions inventory. Scope 1 and 2 are mandatory to report, whereas scope 3 is voluntary and the hardest to monitor.
  • Scope 1: Direct emissions:
    • Direct emissions from company-owned and controlled resources. In other words, emissions are released into the atmosphere as a direct result of a set of activities, at a firm level. It is divided into four categories:
      • Stationary combustion (e.g fuels, heating sources). All fuels that produce GHG emissions must be included in scope 1. 
      • Mobile combustion is all vehicles owned or controlled by a firm, burning fuel (e.g. cars, vans, trucks). The increasing use of “electric” vehicles (EVs), means that some of the organisation fleets could fall into Scope 2 emissions.
      • Fugitive emissions are leaks from greenhouse gases (e.g. refrigeration, air conditioning units). It is important to note that refrigerant gases are a thousand times more dangerous than CO2 emissions. Companies are encouraged to report these emissions.
      • Process emissions are released during industrial processes, and on-site manufacturing (e.g. production of CO2 during cement manufacturing, factory fumes, chemicals).
  • Scope 2: Indirect emissions – owned:
    • Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, from a utility provider. In other words, all GHG emissions released in the atmosphere, from the consumption of purchased electricity, steam, heat and cooling. For most organisations, electricity will be the unique source of scope 2 emissions. Simply stated, the energy consumed falls into two scopes: Scope 2 covers the electricity consumed by the end-user. Scope 3 covers the energy used by the utilities during transmission and distribution (T&D losses).
  • Scope 3: Indirect emissions – not owned:
    • Indirect emissions – not included in scope 2 – that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions. In other words, emissions are linked to the company’s operations. According to GHG protocol, scope 3 emissions are separated into 15 categories.