NorthC Group has commenced construction of a data centre in Geneva at The Hive technology campus, marking the next phase of its expansion strategy across Switzerland. The facility will deliver 45MW of IT capacity in staged phases, with completion targeted for the second quarter of 2028. Spanning 5,400 sq m, the site is engineered to handle AI and high-performance computing workloads.
The development incorporates liquid cooling systems and infrastructure to capture and repurpose excess heat for use in adjacent structures. NorthC will construct the facility using its modular approach, adding 1.5MW increments as customer demand increases, rather than deploying the full 45MW capacity immediately.
Modular Design to Support AI Infrastructure
The Geneva site will employ direct-to-chip liquid cooling, which removes heat from processors through circulating coolant. This technology enables higher-density computing environments suited to AI inference and high-performance computing applications.
NorthC intends to establish a dedicated, high-speed network link connecting Geneva to its other Swiss data centre locations, enabling customers to distribute workloads across multiple sites.
Alexandra Schless, CEO of NorthC Group, highlighted the strategic importance of the location: "Geneva is an important commercial and economic hub in Switzerland, alongside the Basel and Zurich regions. Demand for digital services – and consequently for data centre capacity – is growing rapidly. The proximity to the renowned scientific research centre CERN also offers new opportunities for collaboration in scientific research and innovation, including AI."
NorthC Plans Heat Reuse and Water-Free Cooling
The Geneva facility will run on renewable electricity and employ cooling systems that do not consume water. While the design features direct-to-chip liquid cooling, the coolant circulates within a closed loop, with heat dissipated through separate cooling infrastructure rather than water consumption.
Standby power generation will utilise HVO100, a renewable diesel alternative derived from vegetable oils and waste fats. The site is designed to capture operational heat and supply it to neighbouring buildings at The Hive campus, with provisions for future connection to a local district heating network.
The project is being developed in partnership with Swiss property firm HIAG. The actual environmental performance will depend on how the cooling and heat recovery systems function once operational, particularly regarding the volume of surplus heat that neighbouring buildings can utilise.
NorthC Expands Swiss Data Centre Portfolio
The Geneva development is part of NorthC's broader investment programme in Switzerland. The operator already maintains facilities in Biel, Winterthur and Münchenstein, and has announced a further development at the uptownBasel campus in Arlesheim. Geneva represents the company's sixth Swiss data centre location.
The new facility will strengthen NorthC's regional infrastructure footprint while introducing additional high-density computing capacity to the market.
