Datum Datacentres, a provider of enterprise grade colocation solutions, has been shortlisted in two categories at this year’s Data Centre Review Excellence Awards for its soon-to-be-completed Manchester facility, MCR2. Situated in Wythenshawe, this state-of-the-art facility is the first major construction project as part of the area's £500 million regeneration initiative. Once complete, the MCR2 data centre will offer up to 1,200 rack footprints supporting loads of up to 30kW per rack on dual circuits, providing 2N level of resilience.
The categories in which Datum is shortlisted highlight the company’s commitment to innovation and environmental responsibility within the data centre industry:
- Sustainable Project of the Year: MCR2 has been designed with in-built heat reuse capability. Once implemented, the recovered heat produced by the data centre can be utilised to support a planned housing development of 700-1,500 dwellings in the surrounding area.
- Data Centre Design Project of the Year: this nomination focuses on Datum’s efforts to reduce the facility’s environmental impact from the design stage onwards. This includes an embodied carbon assessment, flood management via an attenuation tank, the use of 100% renewable energy, PV solar panels, and HVO biofuel in backup generators.
Matt Edgley, COO of Datum, noted:
"It has been exciting and challenging to manage the ongoing construction of MCR2, and it has been fascinating to tackle it with an unwavering focus on sustainability. We haven't made our lives easy, but it will absolutely be worthwhile."
Megan Lawless, Senior Digital Strategy Officer at Manchester City Council, commented:
"This is an exciting project for Wythenshawe and the wider Manchester region. Manchester aims to further develop its status as a tech and digital hub in the UK, and Datum is contributing to this through the construction of MCR2."
Jon Healy, CEO of Keysource, the construction partner for MCR2, shared his appreciation for the collaboration involved in bringing this innovative facility to life:
"This is our second successful project with Datum. No stone has been left unturned in designing and building the most efficient and sustainable data centre possible. Being shortlisted for these awards is testament to the effort we have all put in."
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at OXO Tower in London on 14 May 2025.
