From Idea to an Internationally Recognised Innovation Environment – ICE Datacenter Celebrates Ten Years
17 June 2026, 15:32
Since its launch in 2016, RISE’s ICE Datacenter facility in Luleå has developed into an internationally recognised innovation environment involving more than one hundred companies. ICE Datacenter plays a leading role in a sector that is at the heart of societal development.
The anniversary was recently celebrated at an event in Luleå, where around one hundred partners, researchers, and representatives from industry and society gathered to reflect on a decade of innovation and look ahead to the future. What makes the facility unique is the opportunity to test solutions in real-world conditions, using actual equipment and operational data in environments that closely resemble those faced by the industry in practice.
“It is only when you test in real-world conditions that you truly see what works. Here, we can evaluate the solutions of the future before they reach the market, take measurements, and gain a deeper understanding of the technology before it is scaled up – at a lower cost and with less risk than in a full-scale production environment,” says Tor Björn Minde, Head of Unit for ICE Datacenter at RISE.
Sustainability has been a core focus of the operation since the very beginning. This includes work on heat recovery and greenhouse research, which also contributed to a world record in data centre energy efficiency achieved through the EU-funded Boden Type DC project. ICE Datacenter is also a European Demonstration Centre within the Open Compute Project.
“The ICE collaboration is unique – an experience centre that enables open innovation across Europe. It is places like this where the future happens,” says Raúl Álvarez, European Market Development Manager, Open Compute Foundation.
Looking ahead, developments in AI are set to transform the landscape entirely. Technologies that were once considered experimental – liquid cooling, heat recovery, and smart grid integration – have now become practical necessities. To meet growing demand, RISE is therefore significantly expanding ICE Datacenter’s capacity for experimentation.
“RISE invested in the right technology ten years ago. Data centres are booming, and much of the work coming out of RISE is highly relevant,” says Lukas Kaluza, Transformation & Diversification Lead, Castrol Thermal Management, Castrol.
ICE Datacenter is highly relevant to some of the defining challenges of our time: Europe’s digital competitiveness, technological sovereignty, the climate transition, and societal resilience.
“The future is not built by a single actor. It is built by ecosystems like this one, and by people and partnerships willing to think bigger and work together across boundaries,” says Isabelle Kemlin, Business and Innovation Executive at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
About ICE Datacenter at RISE
ICE Datacenter at RISE is an internationally recognised test and demonstration environment for sustainable digital infrastructure in Luleå, established in 2016. The facility serves as a European Demonstration Centre within the Open Compute Project and is part of RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
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For more information:
Tor Björn Minde
Head of Unit, ICE Datacenter, RISE
tor.bjorn.minde@ri.se | +46 70 624 29 59