Launch of SEL2 marks the first phase of operations at the 100+MW campus
SINGAPORE, Oct. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Digital Edge (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd. (“Digital Edge”) has today announced its second data center in the Seoul metropolitan area is Ready-for-Service. The facility, known as SEL2, has been developed in partnership with SK Ecoplant, a leading local developer, and demonstrates Digital Edge’s ongoing commitment to bringing industry-leading and scalable digital infrastructure to the South Korean market.
Digital Edge SEL2 Data Center, South Korea (Exterior)
Originally announced in 2022, SEL2 marks the first phase of Digital Edge’s 100+MW campus in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, which is set to be one of the largest commercial data center projects in South Korea once completed. The company has confirmed the second phase of the development is already in the planning phase and is anticipated to commence construction in 2025.
SEL2 has been designed with Digital Edge’s next generation architecture to meet fast growing demand from local and international cloud providers. The 36MW facility is AI ready and highly suitable for high power density applications, able to support a cabinet density of up to 130kw when a liquid cooling solution is used. In addition, SEL2 leverages a highly efficient engineering design to minimize water and energy usage, achieving a market leading annualized design Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.25, in alignment with the company’s ESG goals. Digital Edge has confirmed that it has already secured an anchor tenant for SEL2.
The new data center adds to Digital Edge’s existing two South Korean facilities in Seoul and Busan, which the company acquired from Sejong Telcom in 2021, and provides a natural extension to customers looking to expand from the company’s carrier dense SEL1 data center in Gangnam district. SEL2 is in close proximity to key transport networks, including Seoul’s major business districts via the Seoul-Incheon Expressway, providing high accessibility and convenience for both local and international customers.
Digital Edge’s 100+MW campus in Incheon is ideally positioned to meet robust demand for data center capacity in South Korea, particularly in the Seoul metro where access to land with sufficient power to cater to high power density deployments is limited. The country continues to be an early adopter of digital technologies, ranking sixth globally in digital technology competitiveness last year[1], the nation’s highest rank in the category in its history. South Korea’s generative AI market is also a key driver of data center demand, with the segment predicted to grow significantly this decade at an estimated CAGR of 46.64% (2024-2030[2]).
Samuel Lee, Chief Executive Officer for Digital Edge, commented, “We are proud to partner with SK Ecoplant in the development of SEL2 to bring next generation digital infrastructure to Asia Pacific, and support the rapid rise of cloud and AI applications across South Korea. Seoul remains a key market within the region’s data center landscape and we are delighted to be able to continue to support the acceleration of its fast growing digital economy.”
Andrew Pak, Country Manager for Digital Edge in South Korea, added, “SEL2 further strengthens our presence across the market by bringing large scale, high-power density data center capacity to complement our existing connectivity-focused sites in Seoul and Busan. Crucially, by working alongside our partners at SK Ecoplant who share our ESG commitments, we have been able to build a highly energy efficient facility that meets the performance demands of our customers alongside our environmental objectives.”
About Digital Edge
Headquartered in Singapore, Digital Edge is a trusted and forward-looking data center platform company, established to transform digital infrastructure in Asia. Through building and operating state-of-the-art, energy-efficient data centers rich with connectivity options, Digital Edge aims to bring new colocation and interconnect options to the Asian market, making infrastructure deployment in the region easy, efficient and economical.
Digital Edge was founded by a seasoned senior management team with decades of industry experience and an established track record of value creation in the data center, cloud and telecommunications industries in the Asia Pacific region. Backed by leading alternative investment firm Stonepeak, Digital Edge has in excess of US$1 billion in deployed and committed capital, establishing itself as a market-leading pan-Asia data center platform. The company provides data center and fiber services across Asia, with a presence in India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, China and the Philippines.
You can visit the company’s website at www.digitaledgedc.com.
About SK Ecoplant Co Ltd
Since being founded in 1977, SK Ecoplant has leveraged its technological expertise to contribute to the growth and success of numerous industries globally, including the infrastructure, residential, environmental, and renewable energy markets.
In May 2021, SK E&C changed its name to SK Ecoplant and expanded its business portfolio by adding environmental and energy solutions to its existing construction business. Today, SK Ecoplant aims to become a leading environmental solutions provider in Asia. The business provides innovative renewable and offshore wind power solutions that contribute to Waste Zero and Net Zero goals, and has secured the largest water and waste treatment capacity in Korean. To support its mission to solve environmental and energy problems worldwide SK Ecoplant continues to look to expand its businesses globally.
SK Ecoplant also applies its eco-friendly and innovative energy solutions to the data center industry. In addition to urban hyperscale data centers, it is developing various types of data centers such as large-scale campus data centers and modular type data centers, with the goal of contributing to corporate and social values.
[1] World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (2023)
[2] Statista – Generative AI South Korea (March 2024)
