Pioneer in Latin America, Scala Data Centers Leads Innovation with Successful Green Diesel Proof of Concept

SÃO PAULO, May 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Scala Data Centers, the leading Latin American platform of sustainable data centers in the Hyperscale market, celebrates the success of its Proof of Concept (POC) confirming the technical feasibility of using hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO), known as green diesel, in its Caterpillar backup generators. This innovation, pioneering in Latin America, reinforces Scala's leadership in adopting responsible and sustainable practices.

Derived from renewable sources like vegetable oils, green diesel undergoes a hydro-treatment process, transforming it into a high-quality fuel with reduced environmental impact. Replacing fossil diesel with HVO can decrease greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85%, consolidating Scala's commitment to corporate sustainability.

During the POC – conducted by Scala's Center of Excellence in Engineering (CoE) in collaboration with the Operations Team and Sotreq, Caterpillar's dealer in Brazil – HVO demonstrated excellent performance in backup generators, maintaining critical resilience of data centers without requiring changes to existing equipment.

Agostinho Villela, Scala's Chief Technology Officer, emphasizes: "The transition to HVO aligns perfectly with our strategy to ensure continuous and sustainable operations without compromising the quality and reliability our customers expect from us."

"We closely monitored Scala's test on Caterpillar equipment in a pioneering initiative in Latin America," adds Mauricio Garcia, Director of Sotreq's Power Unit. "The use of HVO in generators opens up a universe of possibilities, in addition to ensuring lower maintenance costs, preserving equipment, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

While we've made significant strides in technical and environmental advancements, Scala Data Centers acknowledges the current economic challenges surrounding the implementation of hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) in our operations within the Latin American context, as it is 3 times more expensive than diesel. We closely monitor market trends, hoping to identify opportunities that could make the use of HVO economically viable on a larger scale. By taking the lead in this endeavor, Scala positions itself as an industry pioneer and encourages broader market participation in the direction we advocate. We anticipate that movements like ours will raise awareness within the supply chain about the substantial demand potential for HVO, prompting stakeholders to explore more attractive commercial terms conducive to its widespread adoption. Our aim is to stimulate the industry to envision and realize the future benefits of sustainable energy solutions.

Christiana Weisshuhn, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer, adds: "Green diesel is more than an alternative to fossil diesel; it is a fundamental piece in our vision of a sustainable future. We look forward to beginning the transition to HVO as it becomes economically viable, continuing to lead by example in sustainable data center management."

"This proof of concept reinforces our unwavering commitment to providing excellent services to our customers, in an aspect that is fundamental to them," shares Eugênio Cruz, Data Center Operations VP. "In addition to reducing emissions, green diesel offers additional advantages, as tank cleaning and rigorous quality controls, which are necessary when using current biodiesel, will no longer be required, ensuring high availability of our sites."

When HVO enters commercial-scale utilization, the plan is to begin replacing the fuel in its tanks. This reinforces Scala's leading position in the industry, spearheading the transition to cleaner energy solutions and setting new standards for sustainability in the data center sector.

This remarkable advancement by Scala Data Centers sets new sustainability benchmarks in the data center industry and signals a paradigm shift in global industrial practices. Scala establishes itself as a beacon of innovation by demonstrating that cutting-edge technology and environmental responsibility can harmoniously coexist. With eyes set on the future, the company invites partners, customers, and the global community to join in this transformative journey, marking a historic moment for Scala and the entire technology industry.

About Scala Data Centers
Scala Data Centers is the leading sustainable data center platform in the Latin America Hyperscale market. Based in Brazil and backed by DigitalBridge, it was developed to meet and exceed the growing demand for digital access in Latin America. Scala has a highly qualified team of over 1,000 professionals and applies a flexible and innovative approach to delivering exceptional colocation services for Hyperscale customers, cloud software, service providers, and large companies. We customize state-of-the-art solutions for each client with high availability, high rate of energy efficiency, and very high density capable of supporting the AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning) workloads. All this is combined with best sustainability practices guided by our ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) program. For more information, visit https://scaladatacenters.com/en/.

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