Why we built waterless

Ask anyone what worries them about a data centre and water is near the top of the list. It is a fair worry: many large campuses evaporate large volumes of water to reject heat. AHI was designed so that the question does not arise.

The loop. Coolant is piped directly to the chips — direct-to-chip cooling — in a sealed closed loop. It absorbs heat at the silicon, carries it out of the hall, and recirculates. Nothing evaporates, so nothing needs topping up. The loop is not connected to municipal supply.

The climate. Alberta gives free cooling for most of the year. Heat rejection uses the air, not water — the same principle the province’s own AI Data Centres Strategy asks for under “sustainable cooling.”

The numbers. The halls are designed for a PUE in the ~1.1–1.2 range and a single-phase immersion option runs lower still. Any water used on site — domestic draw — is captured, treated and reused.

The by-product. Heat is not waste at AHI. It is engineered to feed year-round agritech on the campus — the food-security pillar, made possible by the cooling design.

Waterless takes more engineering up front. It means the campus asks nothing of the municipal water system.

AHI — AI Hub of Innovation is developed by Havenz Smart Communities (Lead Developer) in partnership with Turning Stone Developments (investment partner); both are general partners of AHI. Statements about future capacity, dates and milestones are forward-looking and subject to approvals, capital and change; nothing in this article constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Growth beyond the first phase is a master-plan objective subject to its own permits and studies. Third-party names describe roles and imply no endorsement. See Important information.