Equinix Sets Energy Saving Best Practices for Data Centers with the Support of CLP Power and PolyU

Hong Kong – December 7, 2023 – Equinix Inc., (Nasdaq: EQIX), the world’s digital infrastructure company^®, drives sustainability and enhances energy efficiency in its Hong Kong data centers by introducing a set of best practices for airflow optimization and management. Ranked fourth globally in terms of cloud availability, market size and power cost, Hong Kong's data center market is experiencing robust growth as the city's digitization efforts drive greater demand for computing power and cloud services.¹ Greater emphasis has been placed on reducing the overall electricity consumption of data centers through the promotion of green buildings in accordance with Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050. This project aims to save energy by optimizing airflow in data center halls. To enhance the overall energy efficiency of the data center industry, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited (CLP Power) funded and collaborated with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) to conduct an in-depth energy analysis for the project to verify the effectiveness of the best practices.

Focusing on optimized airflow supply to data halls, the objective of the project was to identify potential quantifiable power and operational savings for the industry to refine and expand on this energy-saving methodology. This new set of airflow management practices will help stabilize the hall environment, improve cooling conditions, lower operating costs and minimize air conditioning (AC) energy wastage for data centers in Hong Kong.

Max Parry, Interim Managing Director, Hong Kong, Equinix, said: “Equinix is committed to preserving our collective future by continually advancing the sustainability of our global platform, and by driving best practices into the wider industry. Our project with the support from CLP Power and PolyU to optimize airflow efficiency is a great example of this. We believe that collaborating with like-minded institutions will help us collectively grow the data center industry responsibly and reduce our environmental impact.”

Equinix has been rolling out this improvement initiative across its global footprint since 2022 by separating supply and return air streams. To achieve the best energy efficiency results and ensure continuous airflow optimization, Equinix has developed a set of systematic procedures to monitor Cold-Aisle-Containment (CAC) temperature and tune the airflow according to the variations of customers’ IT load and distribution.

The results of the project indicated AC fan energy savings with a short payback period making the initiative viable for enhancing the ability of data centers to optimize energy resources. By strategically positioning equipment to enable separation between hot and cold air streams, data centers can maximize the effectiveness of their cooling systems while minimizing energy wastage.

While hall IT loads and cooling load demand were maintained at a similar level in the data halls before and after the airflow optimization best practice, year-round projections revealed that the uniformity of data hall air temperature and differential pressure were improved by 21.3% and 2.7% respectively. The energy consumption of the computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units was lowered by 29.3% through the implementation of the best practice.

Ka Wing Tang, Director, Cross-functional, IBX Operations, Hong Kong, Equinix said: “We are pleased to participate in this airflow optimization project with PolyU and CLP Power. Collectively, we were able to formulate research that will play a part in helping Hong Kong achieve its sustainability objectives in its Climate Action Plan 2050 through airflow optimization initiatives. Moving forward, we will continue to discover new methods for resource conservation that align with Equinix’s sustainability agenda and climate-neutral commitments.  We will also work with our partners to develop standardized air optimization protocols that can translate into energy and cost-saving opportunities for our global footprint in the years to come.”

CLP Power Director of Customer Success and Sales Dr Anthony Lo said: “CLP Power is committed to assisting our business customers in their low-carbon transformation and supporting Hong Kong’s move towards the goal of carbon neutrality. With the funding from the CLP Community Energy Saving Fund, we launched an in-depth energy analysis program for industries with high levels of energy consumption this year. As an energy partner of Equinix, we are pleased to collaborate with PolyU to provide an in-depth energy saving data analysis for Equinix to further improve its energy efficiency and reduce its operating costs. At the same time, this project set an example for the data center industry on energy saving. This is the first study result released under the program. Apart from data centers, CLP Power is also conducting in-depth energy analysis for various industries, such as hospitals, shopping malls, food manufacturing plants, and encouraging them to apply innovative technologies to enhance energy saving and carbon reduction.”

Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation), Chair Professor of Thermal and Environmental Engineering and Director of Policy Research Centre for Innovation and Technology, PolyU, said: “PolyU is proud to have collaborated with Equinix and CLP Power on this airflow optimization project. This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing sustainable technologies and supporting Hong Kong's carbon neutrality targets. By optimizing airflow in data center halls, we have not only achieved significant energy savings but also contributed to enhancing the overall efficiency and environmental responsibility of the data center industry. This project exemplifies the positive impact that collaboration between academic institutions, industry leaders and power companies can have on shaping a more sustainable future for Hong Kong and beyond."

Key Highlights:

• With the funding from the CLP Community Energy Saving Fund, CLP Power works with universities, research institutions, and other professional organizations to launch a professional in-depth energy analysis program. The program aims to help industries and organizations with high levels of energy consumption, such as hospitals, data centers, and businesses using energy-intensive operation systems like water pump systems and production systems identify energy-saving opportunities. Energy-saving advice concerning equipment performance, operating systems and business models will be offered to improve energy efficiency and reduce operating costs. The study for Equinix conducted in partnership with PolyU is one of the research projects under the program.
   
• Equinix aims to formalize the airflow optimization method developed in this project, making it readily applicable for the data center industry. With adequate sensing devices and advanced building management system applied, the development of auto-monitoring platform for data hall temperature will further enhance the working efficiency. The project explores and identifies potential opportunities for energy efficiency while establishing standardized methods and procedures, ensuring that data center operators can adopt and implement these practices seamlessly.
   
• Properly optimizing airflow is a crucial initial step for data center operators to achieve higher energy efficiency, potential cost savings, reduced carbon emissions and improved cooling system performance. Optimized airflow does not adversely affect the operation of water-side cooling system or mechanical ventilation. When comparing the before and after impact of the best practice implementation, the energy consumption of computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units was forecast to potentially be reduced by almost 30%.
   
• Apart from this collaboration, Equinix’s HK4 International Business Exchange^® (IBX^®) data center installed a 33kW on-grid photovoltaic (PV) panel system on its rooftop. Since December 2022, the system has produced an estimated 33,900kWh of renewable power per year under CLP Power’s Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff Scheme.
   
• In 2022, Equinix invested a total of US$45 million toward energy efficiency projects globally, resulting in an associated annual energy consumption reduction of approximately 69,000 megawatt hours and a 5.5% year-on-year reduction in power usage effectiveness (PUE), reaching a global annual average PUE of 1.46.
   
• Despite the rapid growth of its global footprint, Equinix has consistently reduced its absolute greenhouse gas GHG emissions since 2015. In 2022, Equinix reported a 23% reduction of its overall scope 1 and 2 market-based emissions from a 2019 baseline.

About Equinix
Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world’s digital infrastructure company^®. Digital leaders harness Equinix’s trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.

About The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) aspires to be an innovative world-class university with a strong sense of social responsibility, driven by its motto, "To learn and to apply, for the benefit of mankind". The University provides the best holistic education to nurture socially responsible "leaders of tomorrow" who possess a strong sense of national identity and a global perspective, and pursues impactful innovation and interdisciplinary research to address the world’s most pressing challenges. A robust culture of knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship is a cornerstone of the University, ensuring PolyU’s technologies are transformed into practical real-world applications. The University's unwavering commitment to excellence has earned it international recognition, with PolyU consistently ranking among the top 100 universities worldwide. Based on this solid foundation, the University will continue to make positive contributions in collaboration with its strategic partners for the betterment of Hong Kong, the Nation, and the world.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks to our business and operating results related to the COVID-19 pandemic; the current inflationary environment; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; increased costs to procure power and the general volatility in the global energy market; the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX and xScale^® data centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix products and solutions; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenues from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; risks related to our taxation as a REIT and other risks described from time to time in Equinix filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see recent and upcoming Equinix quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Equinix Media Relations
Equinix
Annie Ho
Email: annho@ap.equinix.com

TEAM LEWIS
Ivan Leung
Tel: (852) 3002 3761
Email: equinixHK@teamlewis.com

PolyU Media Relations
Mr Edmond Siu
Senior Manager, Communications and Public Affairs, PolyU
Tel: (852) 2766 5096
Email: edmond.siu@polyu.edu.hk

¹ https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/insights/global-data-center-market-comparison