Neom and Datavolt, a Saudi-based international developer, investor and operator of data centers, have signed an agreement to design and develop the region’s first net-zero AI factory campus at the Oxagon industrial city in Saudi Arabia.
The development will take a phased approach, with phase one – funded by an initial investment of $ 5 billion – expected to be operational by 2028. The 1.5-GW factory will integrate a wide range of computing densities and energy-efficient architectures to address the global challenges posed by traditional data centers.
Oxagon will lease Datavolt the land for the development of the facility and provide the data center operator with infrastructure support. The ambition is for the facility to be entirely powered by renewable energy, providing a fully integrated, end-to-end data center solution.
Vishal Wanchoo, CEO of Oxagon, said: “The Kingdom is at the forefront of the global energy transition. At Oxagon, we are accelerating a renewable energy industrial ecosystem that is set to power businesses with green energy and technology solutions. The agreement with Datavolt highlights the potential impact of the sustainable infrastructure Oxagon offers its tenants and sets the foundations for the first green-AI workload to come on-stream in KSA along with the necessary computing power for regional and global impact.”
Rajit Nanda, CEO of Datavolt, added: “This agreement with NEOM and Oxagon underscores our unwavering commitment to support the Kingdom’s vision of becoming a regional digital and AI hub. The Kingdom’s strategic location, coupled with its abundant green energy resources, aligns perfectly with Datavolt’s mission in providing state-of-the-art sustainable data centers. This project marks a significant milestone in advancing the Kingdom’s leadership as a digital powerhouse in the region.”