08/22/2022
Modine Manufacturing Company, a diversified global leader in thermal management technology and solutions, announced that it has commenced full scale production of chillers for the data center market at their new production facility in Rockbridge, Virginia, and further confirmed a significant order with data center giant, Corscale, with plans for further business in the coming months.
Airedale by Modine is Modine's data center cooling brand. Headquartered in Leeds, UK and with facilities in Consett, UK;, Guadalajara, Spain; Dubai, UAE; Rockbridge, VA; and Grenada, MI; Airedale by Modine products provide energy and water efficient cooling solutions for a data center market that is expanding to meet the demands of a planet increasingly reliant on data.
With Airedale by Modine cooling solutions set to be installed at Corscale's Gainesville Crossing Data Campus, the Company has secured a healthy pipeline for its OptiChill free-cooling chillers, AireWall fan walls & SmartCool ONE computer room air handling units.
Corscale, the exclusive data center platform of Patrinely Group, is focused on delivering sustainability at scale for hyperscale operators and enterprise clients. Following a substantial period of consultation, Corscale appointed Modine due to its history of ground-breaking, free-cooling technology paired with its in-depth knowledge and understanding of the data center industry.
Having worked closely with engineers from Corscale, Modine has developed a specialized data center chiller based on their existing OptiChill range. The Corscale chiller, with enhanced free cooling, has been designed to meet North American safety standards, using American materials and components, to offer a world-class energy efficient solution. Engineering specialists at the chiller plant in Virginia have worked with their colleagues at Modine's center of excellence in Leeds, UK, to deliver a cooling solution that delivers on performance while operating at higher water temperatures and fluid temperature differentials than traditional offerings, enhancing energy efficiency and free-cooling potential.
Prior to the commencement of site deliveries, the team from Corscale will be invited to a witness test at Modine's brand new laboratories in Rockbridge, VA, where the units will be put through their paces under various conditions and tested at different heat loads, simulating the environment and conditions they will be operational under. The test center at Rockbridge is capable of testing a complete range of air conditioning equipment up to 2.2MW, expanding to 5MW in future for water-cooled chillers, the climate temperature being fully controllable anywhere from 59°F to 126°F.
The new Corscale chiller operates using twin screw compressors and has a number of special features, included to enhance efficiency and performance, including:
- High-capacity twin-screw compressors offer reliability and flexibility, with staged capacity control
- Enhanced controls including fast-start, input power limiting and intelligent management of compressors, refrigerant and pumps
- An on-board variable speed pump to precisely match cooling demand, reducing waste energy expenditure while maintaining water-side temperature differential and saving on space and electrical distribution requirements
- Optimized economizers to provide unmatched free cooling potential
- 100% contained Glycol loop to isolate the economizer from the cooling loop and increase efficiency of the Airwall units
- Enhanced controls platform including redundancy back-up and fast-start mode, to minimize the risk of disruption in the event of mechanical breakdown
- On-board active harmonic filtration, ensuring a clean power supply to the data center, while saving on external plant requirements.
"We selected to work with Airedale by Modine because we wanted something that mirrors our dedication to deliver sustainability at scale,” said Nic Bustamante, Senior Vice President, Development at Corscale. “We wanted to work with an established brand that our customers can trust. Airedale products are renowned for their innovative approach and commitment to efficiency, which in turn reduces wastage, and we were impressed by the work they have done across the world with other data centers."
Modine's Rockbridge facility is ideally located to serve the US data center market, with Virginia being the largest data center market in the world. Northern Virginia is home to more than 20% (100) of all known hyperscale data centers worldwide. Alongside chillers, Modine will also manufacture SmartCool ONE CRAHs and AireWall fan walls in the US, offering complete cooling solutions for colocation and hyperscale data center operators.
About Modine
At Modine, we are engineering a cleaner, healthier world. Building on more than 100 years of excellence in thermal management, we provide trusted systems and solutions that improve air quality and conserve natural resources. More than 11,000 employees are at work in every corner of the globe, delivering the solutions our customers need, where they need them. Our Climate Solutions and Performance Technologies segments support our purpose by improving air quality, reducing energy and water consumption, lowering harmful emissions and enabling cleaner running vehicles and environmentally friendly refrigerants. Modine is a global company headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin (USA), with operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.modine.com.
