Verne, a European data center developer, has revealed plans to switch to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for powering its backup generators at a data center in Farringdon, London.
This move will replace the use of diesel fuel at the site and is being implemented in collaboration with Crown Oil, a fuel and lubricants distributor based in Manchester.
The company claims that this change will significantly reduce the data center’s carbon emissions, cutting up to 90% of the CO2 generated by the backup generators. As a result, the facility will no longer need a greenhouse gas permit.
HVO, often referred to as renewable diesel, is made from sustainable raw materials like animal fats and used cooking oils. It serves as a direct replacement for diesel and can be used in existing generators without any modifications. HVO can also be blended with diesel and is suitable for both cold and warm climates.
Verne is committed to lowering the CO2 footprint of its operations, with the adoption of HVO seen as a key step in that effort.
This decision follows a similar initiative in Finland, where Verne partnered with Neste Oyj in October 2024. Neste will supply HVO to all of Verne’s data centers in Finland. The company operates three facilities in the country, including a 50MW center in Helsinki, an 11MW center in Pori, and a colocation facility in Tampere.
Verne was established in September 2022 after the merger of London-based Volta Data Centres and Icelandic developer Verne Global. In April 2022, Triple Point’s Digital 9 Infrastructure (D9), the parent company of Verne Global, acquired Volta, which included a 91,000 square foot (8,450 sqm), 6MW facility now operating under the Verne name.
HVO has gained popularity among data center operators across Europe. Recently, companies like AWS in Sweden, Vantage in Wales, and Stack Infrastructure in Norway have also adopted this renewable fuel for their backup power systems.
