‘Nobody cares about energy efficiency’: The evolution of Firmus’ green credentials
The data centre unicorn’s claims about cooling tech, land and energy use have shifted fast. Bulls say its because AI is moving at warp speed, but others aren’t convinced.
In a promotional video for Firmus from 2022, co-CEO Oliver Curtis articulates why he’s so excited about the company’s emerging sustainability credentials, and why it will win in the highly competitive world of data centres.
“95% more energy efficient, that’s 25% of the capital cost, and that energy efficiency leads to a 40% reduction in overall costs...12 times less land required,” Curtis riffs to camera in the video with a set of racks behind him. “Those things were just like, well if it’s true then this a gamechanger, right?”
The video, viewed by Capital Brief but no longer publicly available, is a taste of how the company was positioning itself before becoming the most closely-watched private company in the country ahead of a blockbuster IPO anticipated later this year. In 2022, its aspirational energy efficiencies were front and centre as it ditched its Bitcoin mining business and went all in on data centres.
But as those sustainability claims have changed in the years since, refined from nebulous promotion to quantifiable measures, doubts have emerged and some investors are asking if those original claims stacked up, and even if they did whether Firmus’ competitive advantage is narrowing.
