Located at the Australian National University, the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) is one of only two Tier-1 high-performance data, storage and computing organisations in Australia. They maintain and operate one of the world’s most powerful CPU-based supercomputers ‘Gadi’ catering to the biggest, most highly parallel workloads of Australia’s largest research organisations.

Leading the mechanical services fit out for the facility’s original construction (2012) and subsequent cooling system upgrade (2020), Benmax are once again partnering with Shaw Building Group to deliver a new energy centre at the site to expand NCIs computer and storage capacity with cutting edge technology. The new structure includes a substation, generators and cooling towers.

This stage of the mechanical services plant upgrade expands on the transition away from traditional low temperature chilled water-cooling design to a high temperature cooling water design at 30oC, providing a substantial reduction in energy consumption. The new and existing cooling water plant will achieve a capacity of over 5,000kW of cooling via the cooling towers and heat exchangers, in an N+1 arrangement. A new heat reclaim facility added to the plant in this stage allows the capture and reuse of the rejected energy from the plant for future use on the wider ANU campus.

The scope of work also includes the installation of new Cooling Distribution Units (CDU) within the computer racks, as well as the secondary cooling water reticulation being extended to these CDUs via bespoke stainless-steel manifolds from the converted sub-floor reticulation loops.

Project features:

• 1 x new 2,800kW plate heat exchanger
• 2 x new side stream filtration and water treatment systems
• All pipe work, fittings, valves, including stainless steel CW pipework
• A heat reclaim facility for future reuse of the rejected energy for the centre
• BMS and controls migration to an N+1 arrangement
• Seismic bracing to all new plant and installations
• Testing and commissioning