New Zealand energy company North Rakaia Ltd has signed an agreement with Taiwan-based Mobii Green Energy Group to help build the world’s first green hydrogen AI data centre.
The deal includes the construction of 850MW solar farms, 300MW wind farms, green hydrogen production and power generation facilities, along with 750MW AI data centre campuses, all powered by 100% green energy in Canterbury.
The first phase involves a $2 billion investment marking the first implementation of Mobii Green Energy’s Global Green Hydrogen Intelligent City (Green HI-City) initiative.
A cooperation agreement for the project was signed at Selwyn District Council on September 27 by Mobii Green Energy chairman Kenny Tseng and North Rakaia Ltd founder Yali Li. It was witnessed by Local Government NZ president and Selwyn District Council Mayor Sam Broughton.
Broughton says the partnership represents one of the largest data centre investments in New Zealand’s history.
It aims to accelerate technological innovation in green energy and AI, lay the foundation for the country’s green transition, create significant employment opportunities and assist New Zealand into the AI era, he says.
Mobii Green Energy has also partnered with several global leaders for this project. Super Micro will provide the latest Nvidia GB200 liquid cooling solution, VNET will manage data centre construction and operations, and TSTI will manage the system integration. Meanwhile, Google will co-operate on cloud computing services.
Together, the partners will drive the establishment and operation of the modular container-based green hydrogen computing centre, reducing data centre construction time by two years and address customer demands while eliminating concerns over power shortages.
Mobii Green Energy will license its patented green hydrogen technology, and both parties will jointly establish a project company responsible for project construction, maintenance, operations, and research and development.
In the first phase, the focus will be on solar and wind power generation, building a green computing centre equipped with 5120 H100 servers.
North Rakaia Ltd together with its sister company will provide land and 1.15GW of green power, while overseeing the production of green hydrogen and the construction and operation of hydrogen power plants.
Additionally, North Rakaia Ltd will invest $25 million in Mobii Green Energy’s pre-A funding round, securing exclusive collaboration rights in New Zealand.
It’s expected that green hydrogen generation will gradually reduce New Zealand’s reliance on gas and coal for peak power generation and help New Zealand to achieve carbon zero. A dedicated port for exporting green hydrogen is also planned.
North Rakaia says the partnership not only advances New Zealand’s green energy transition but also injects fresh momentum into the development of local AI infrastructure and AI powered agriculture.
“The hydrogen-powered data centre will position New Zealand as a global hub for AI innovation, attracting top talents and technology and contributing to the world with low cost and high quality food for the next billion population by 2050 and beyond,” it says.
