Johnson Controls has announced its participation in the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed (STDCT) 2.0, a collaborative initiative hosted by the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). This partnership aims to explore how AI-ready data centres can be scaled efficiently in environments with limited resources. Johnson Controls will contribute its expertise in thermal management, smart controls, and data centre operations to test and validate approaches under real-world tropical conditions.
The collaboration is significant as Singapore expands its low-carbon digital infrastructure, including an additional 200 MW of data centre capacity. Located on Jurong Island, STDCT 2.0 will evaluate emerging AI and data centre technologies, focusing on reducing power and water consumption whilst increasing computing capacity. Johnson Controls’ integrated thermal management approach can potentially reduce non-IT energy consumption by up to 50% compared to conventional cooling methods.
In a 1-gigawatt data centre blueprint, Johnson Controls demonstrated the potential to convert waste heat into productive cooling, enabling up to 97 MW of additional AI computing capacity whilst reducing cooling-related electrical demand by up to 44%. “Meeting the demands of advanced computing requires a new way of thinking about infrastructure,” said Austin Domenici, president of Data Centre Solutions at Johnson Controls.
Beyond technology evaluation, STDCT 2.0 will support research, talent development, and industry collaboration. “As AI drives a new wave of infrastructure demand across Asia Pacific, advancing research, developing talent, and strengthening industry collaboration will be critical,” said Ali Badreddine, vice president and general manager for Southeast Asia Business and Asia Pacific Data Centre Solutions at Johnson Controls.
