When atNorth needed backup power for its first Nordic data centre in 2023, the company faced a problem common to newer operators: how to secure reliable emergency generators without the in-house engineering teams that hyperscalers take for granted. The solution came from Finland. kWset Oy won the contract to supply six generators for atNorth’ s Fin02 facility. Two years later, kW-set provides turnkey backup power solutions across atNorth’ s entire Nordic portfolio.

“ Our partnership with atNorth started in 2023, when we got the first order for Fin02. The second phase was Iceland, then Denmark, and now we are supplying all the sites for atNorth.”

Atte Hietaoja, Partner and Chief Sales Executive at kW-set Oy

Diesel dominates despite environmental pressure The partnership between atNorth and kW-set highlights a reality that environmental advocates find uncomfortable: data centres still depend on diesel for backup power, and alternatives remain impractical at scale. The physics are unforgiving.

“ The standard requirement for data centres is to have 48 hours of energy stored on site. In practice, this is only feasible with diesel. Using gas or hydrogen would require 10 – 20 times more storage space, while batteries would demand roughly one million times( 10 6) more space.” Atte explains. kW-set Oy addresses environmental concerns through operational reality and fuel chemistry. Most backup generators run only during scheduled tests and actual outages.“ The diesel generators are used mainly for emergencies. The running hours are really low, and because they are operated only a few hours a year, the total emissions are minimal,” Atte notes.