Global Technical Realty (GTR), a European build-to-suit data center operator led by Franek Sodzawiczny and backed by KKR, today announced the launch of a new 10.5-megawatt data center development, known as IS One, in Petah Tikva, part of the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, and a key data center hub in Israel.
Tel Aviv, Israel (IS One) – Global Technical Realty’s Data Center
Global Technical Realty’s IS One data center development in Petah Tikva will have access to a connectivity ecosystem currently made up of seven cloud service providers (see below), the Israeli Internet eXchange (IIX), and multiple carriers.
The Petah Tikva sub-market of Tel Aviv, Israel, is an entrepreneurial hub for high-tech multinational corporations and communications companies.
Development
Global Technical Realty’s IS One data center in Tel Aviv, Israel, will be built underground to hyperscale customer specifications. Specifically, the facility will comprise 10.5 megawatts of IT capacity across 51.7k sqft (4.8k sqm) of technical space, on two subterranean floors. Indeed, one floor will offer 8 megawatts of IT capacity and the other will provide 2.5 megawatts of IT capacity.
IS One will be built to a N+1 Tier III rating, offering a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of <1.17 at full load. Finally, the facility will be delivered in two phases and is expected to be fully operational by Q2 2023.
Construction Partner
Mercury Engineering, a European contractor, will direct and manage the build process for IS One. To-date, Mercury’s hyperscale data center developments include projects in Dublin, Ireland; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Odense, Denmark.
Customers
GTR’s approach is to design, build, and operate hyperscale data centers across EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), targeting large technology clients (i.e., hyperscale customers). For example, Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM Cloud, and Salesforce are likely customer targets of GTR.
Israel – Data Center Market
Israel is an emerging data center market which is gaining greater focus from both cloud service providers and multi-tenant data center operators like Global Technical Realty (GTR).
Cloud Service Providers
All of the major cloud service providers are in the process of establishing new cloud regions in Israel. Indeed, this includes data centers from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud.
For example, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is reportedly building three data centers in Israel, each with 16 megawatts of power capacity. Overall, the project reportedly costs $290m+. Local press reports indicate that Azrieli Group, through its portfolio company Compass Datacenters, may build a portion of this capacity for Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Israel.
Multi-Tenant Data Center Operators
MedOne is a key data center operator in Israel, with 4 facilities comprising 270k sqft (25k sqm) of area. Moreover, the company’s Med-1 facility is the physical location for the Israeli Internet eXchange (IIX).
Additionally, Bezeq, Netvision, Interhost, Active Cloud Israel, and HQserv operate facilities in Israel. Finally, Serverfarm (backed by Israel’s Red Sea Group) has indicated an interest in entering Israel, while Adgar Investments & Development is currently building-out capacity.
Global Technical Realty (GTR) – London, Israel, and Beyond
GTR’s data center development in Tel Aviv, Israel represents the company’s second announced project since its formation in May 2020. Notably, in June 2021, GTR announced its first data center campus in the London sub-market of Slough, UK (GB One), which will have 40.5 megawatts of power capacity upon completion.
Global Technical Realty (GTR) is funding its London and Israel data center build-out with backing from private equity firm KKR. Specifically, KKR made a $1bn equity commitment to GTR via its $7.4bn Global Infrastructure Investors III Fund.
Alongside debt financing, KKR’s $1bn equity commitment will support more than $2.5bn of asset development and investment into data centers.
Development Pipeline
In Europe, GTR has a total of 130+ megawatts of power capacity under development across Tier-1 and Tier-2 markets. Additionally, the company expects to open its first data center in Latin America in 2022. Finally, GTR plans to add another location in the Middle East over time.
