Electricity and Control October 2025

Industry 4.0 + IIoT: Products + services

Africa’s largest standalone data centre

feature on a continent facing water scarcity and unreliable supply. The JB4 expansion is built in line with global hyperscale requirements and international compliance standards, adding to Teraco’s existing portfolio of ISO 9001, ISO 27001, ISO 50001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, PCI-DSS, and ISAE3402 certified data centre facilities.

It contributes significantly to the South African and sub-Saharan African data centre footprint, following the recent completion of Teraco’s new hyperscale JB5 Isando facility, which adds another 30 MW of critical IT power load to Teraco’s Isando Campus in Ekurhuleni. Jan Hnizdo, Teraco CEO, says the company is well positioned to continue its strong growth with sustained demand from enterprises and hyperscale clients for hybrid cloud and cloud deployments. “South Africa has become the technology and data centre hub for sub-Saharan Africa, acting as a springboard for cloud, AI and content provision into Africa. Significant global investments in undersea cables, such as Equiano and 2Africa, further strengthen this position, enabling global cloud providers to service the South African market as well as the rest of the sub-Saharan African region. “Teraco is dedicated to expanding its capacity across key hubs. We ensure our clients have the flexibility to scale and leverage digital transformation across the region. We continue to make significant investments in ICT infrastructure and have established Africa’s largest data centre platform. We are proud to o‡er open access interconnection and deliver world-class data centre solutions to all our clients,” he says. Teraco’s data centres provide access to a wide range of network service providers, regional IXPs, content delivery networks, cloud service provider on-ramps, and peering at the NAPAfrica internet exchange. Its growing data centre platform currently stands at 189 MW of critical power load which includes the Isando Campus: 70 MW, Bredell Campus: 64 MW, Cape Town Campus: 53 MW, and Durban: 2 MW. Achievements from the past year - Teraco started construction on a 120 MW solar PV project, set to begin operations in 2026 - Signed its first Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) under its renewable wind energy procurement programme - Continues to protect scarce natural resources using zero water cooling solutions - Achieved an average annual Power Usage E‡ectiveness (PUE) of 1.47 in 2024, setting benchmarks for operational e‡iciency - Expanded its roošop solar investments to a total commit ment of more than 10 MW by December 2026 - Retained its ISO 50001 and ISO 14001 certifications and achieved ISO 45001 Health and Safety Management certi fication. Additionally, Teraco confirms that it is on track to supply 50% of its total energy consumption from clean sources by 2027 and to achieve 100% clean energy usage by 2035.

The total JB4 facility comprises 14 data halls with a floor area of 17 000 m 2 .

Teraco recently announced the completion of its JB4 Bredell Campus data centre expansion in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg. The 30 MW addition expands JB4 to being the largest standalone data centre built in Africa, with 80 000 m 2 of building structure, serviced by 80 MW of utility power supply servicing 50 MW of critical IT power load. The new expansion at JB4 comprises six data halls, incorporates new design enhancements and, in another African first, each hall supports 5 MW of allocated critical IT power load. The new data halls are fully liquid-to-liquid cooling enabled, allowing for high-density air-cooled cloud deployments and direct-to-chip cooling for denser AI workloads. JB4 is designed with a keen focus on sustainability. It incorporates, for instance, a state-of-the-art closed loop chilled water system that provides free air cooling, coupled with AI-enabled technology to configure data hall cooling in real time, based on IT load and load dispersion. This achieves industry-leading Power Usage E‡ectiveness (PUE), significantly reducing energy consumption and using zero water during ongoing cooling – an important

Sustainability is a key element of Industry 4.0

Leading data centre operator, Teraco, recently released its fourth annual sustainability report, a reflection of its ongoing e‡orts to embed environmental and social responsibility across every aspect of its business. Teraco recognises the significant energy requirements of its facilities and reiterates its commitment to minimising its environmental impact. Through renewable energy programmes, next-generation

The energy centre room at Teraco’s recently completed JB4 facility at its Bredell campus in Isando, east of Johannesburg.

cooling systems, and optimised power infrastructure, the company is investing in leading-edge technologies to improve energy e‡iciency and sustainability.

Continued on page 9

8 Electricity + Control OCTOBER 2025