Asia Pacific and Japan hyperscale data centre specialist, AirTrunk has commenced operations in Malaysia, following the official opening of its flagship, 150MW hyperscale data centre in Johor Bahru, Johor.
The opening ceremony of AirTrunk JHB1 was attended by Malaysian and Australian government officials and key AirTrunk partners. They included Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry deputy minister, Liew Chin Tong; Johor state Investment, Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Lee Ting Han; and Australia’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Danielle Heinecke.
Representatives from the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Invest Johor, Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Iskandar Puteri City Council, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) were also present.
AirTrunk founder and chief executive officer, Robin Khuda said the rapid and safe delivery of JHB1 is a pivotal step in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Malaysia and AirTrunk’s growth as “a trusted partner for our customers in the Asia Pacific and Japan region”.
“With a commitment to innovation and sustainable growth, combined with a programme of investment in energy availability and renewable electricity, Malaysia is fast becoming a key tech hub in the Asia Pacific and Japan region,” said Khuda.
“Through our long-term investment in Malaysia, we are able to support our customers as they grow at speed and implement groundbreaking solutions like liquid cooling, at scale, to catalyse sustainable cloud and AI development.”
AirTrunk’s head of Malaysia, Lim Pei Jet, added that AirTrunk is contributing to the local economy by supporting and developing local talent and delivering critical digital infrastructure.
“The new data centre supports the rapid growth of cloud and AI in Malaysia and aligns with the government’s initiative to establish AI hubs in the country,” Lim said.
“We are making a long-term commitment to further engage with the local community to build a full AI ecosystem in Malaysia. The long term and predictable demand from JHB1 also provides the stability to underpin investment in the energy grid and initiate multiple green energy developments.”
The initial phases of JHB1, which spans over 10.3 hectares, will provide over 50MW of capacity for its large technology customers.
Servicing a major cloud availability zone, the data centre offers strong domestic and international connection to regional technology hubs, including in neighbouring Singapore, with an end-to-end cross-border connection strategy.
With its low design Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.15 – making it one of the most efficient data centres in the country – the new facility features an AI-ready design with AirTrunk’s first deployment of direct-to-chip liquid cooling technology, alongside traditional indirect evaporative cooling (IEC), and high-density racks.
This approach reduces energy consumption by up to 23 per cent. The company launched its liquid cooling approach in July 2024, following five years of research and development.
With a focus on accelerating the energy transition and supporting energy reliability, AirTrunk worked with Malaysian utility company TNB to connect JHB1. This follows a Memorandum of Understanding with TNB, signed in 2023, that will see the two companies advance the energy transition in the region.
Earlier this year, AirTrunk also announced the first renewable energy Virtual Power Purchase Agreement for a data centre for 30MW of renewable energy, with developer ib vogt, under Malaysia’s Corporate Green Power Programme.
The allocation was the maximum available for an individual developer with a secured offtaker. JHB1 is also equipped with a solar ready roof, able to provide over 1MW of power for this phase, making it one of the largest onsite solar deployments for a data centre in Southeast Asia.
Heinecke said demand for more efficient and green data centres is growing exponentially in Malaysia and across the region.
“The launch of AirTrunk’s JHB1 data centre will support Malaysia’s ambitions to grow its digital economy ecosystem in a sustainable way, and it reflects Malaysia’s attractiveness as an investment destination, especially in the digital and tech sectors,” Heinecke said.
“Australia will continue to ramp up our close collaboration with Southeast Asian nations, including Malaysia. We look forward to supporting more two-way trade and investment between Australia and Southeast Asia.”
JHB1 is part of AirTrunk’s leading Asia Pacific and Japan data centre platform, comprising 11 centres offering more than 1.4GW of total capacity to support increasing demand from global tier one technology companies in the region.
