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Solutions · family

Data Centers

Pre-tested IT modules: the steel, the envelope and the provisions, engineered around your rack layout.

  • 2,000 kg/m² floors
  • ISO 12944 C4-H / C5-M
  • A1 mineral wool
  • factory-tested before dispatch
  • ISO 9001
  • ISO 14001
  • EN ISO 3834-2
  • EN 1090-1 EXC2
  • AQAP 2110
  • CSC approval
  • Defence trade licence
  • Registered defence supplier, CAGE code held

An edge or modular data centre lives inside a steel shell that has to carry rack loads, keep water out for twenty years, take cable and cooling penetrations exactly where the integrator wants them, and arrive tested. Tanax builds that shell. The IT, the cooling plant and the fire suppression are yours or your integrator's; the enclosure, the structural floor, the coating system and the provisions are ours.

Containerized data center

Factory-built data center modules for edge, enterprise and AI.

Built, integrated and load-tested in our plant. Delivered as a standard container or a wide-body technical module. Plug in on site.

  • ISO 20 ft or 40 ft HC, or wide-body
  • EI 60 envelope, RC3 cladding
  • N to 2N power
  • Factory acceptance test with load bank

A containerized data center is an IT room, a technical room and everything between them, engineered as one module and tested before it leaves the factory. Tanax builds the steel, the fire-rated envelope, the raised base and the provisions, and integrates the power, cooling, suppression and monitoring with a technology partner who has delivered containerized data centers for telecom operators. The module arrives commissioned: one supplier for the shell and the integration, made in the EU.

The power, cooling and suppression systems are integrated with a technology partner who has delivered containerized data centers for telecom operators. Tanax does not name the partner on this site; the responsibility for the module is Tanax's.

To scale

The module beside a person

Drawn as a cutaway: the IT room with its rack rows and contained cold aisle, the wall-mounted cooling units, the technical room with the power cabinets and the suppression cylinders, the raised base and the stairs. Switch between the ISO 40 ft High Cube and the wide-body module.

Format
Visualisation of a Tanax containerized data center module, cut away to show the rack rows, the cold aisle and the technical room, beside a 1.80 m person

A visualisation of the design, not a photograph of a delivered unit. Rack count, cabinet positions and cooling positions are representative; every project is laid out around the customer's racks. The ISO 40 ft High Cube carries its standard envelope; the wide-body module is sized per project and shows no figure.

Where it is used

Where a containerized data center is the right answer

  • Edge and telco

    Compute at the network edge, in a module that ships like a container and lands on a prepared pad.

  • AI inference

    Inference and pre-processing beside the data source. Higher density and liquid cooling are engineered on request.

  • Disaster recovery

    A second site that is delivered, not built: the same repeatable design at another location.

  • Industrial and mining sites

    Process IT where there is no building, with the envelope rated for dust, heat and a C5 marine atmosphere where the site needs it.

  • Temporary capacity

    Capacity while a large data center is under construction, then moved on or kept as the edge node.

  • Secure government nodes

    A tight, fire-rated, RC3 enclosure prepared for access control, CCTV and intruder alarm.

  • Coastal and island sites

    ISO 12944 up to C5, stainless A4 fasteners and EPDM seals for salt air.

Two formats, one design

ISO module

A 20 ft or 40 ft High Cube to ISO 1496-1 with CSC. It ships as a standard container by road, rail and sea and keeps its ISO cargo doors for equipment access.

  • ISO 1496-1, CSC
  • Ships as a standard container
  • From 5 racks per module
  • Multi-module scaling with one repeatable design

Wide-body technical module

A stationary, non-ISO module for larger IT rooms, with the same envelope, power and cooling architecture and the same factory acceptance test.

  • Non-ISO, for stationary installation
  • Larger IT room and rack count
  • Same EI 60 envelope and RC3 cladding
  • Same factory test before shipping

Why Tanax

Why Tanax builds it

  1. 01

    Own steel

    Robotic welding, Sa 2.5 blasting and our own paint shop. The shell, the raised base and the floor are made in one hall.

  2. 02

    Defence-grade QA

    AQAP 2110 beside ISO 9001, EN 1090-1 EXC2 for the steel, EN ISO 3834-2 for the welding. The same system the defence modules are built under.

  3. 03

    One supplier

    Shell and integration from one contract. Power, cooling, suppression and monitoring are integrated with a technology partner and tested together in our plant.

  4. 04

    Made in the EU

    Built in Slovakia, inside the EU customs regime. CE documentation with the module.

  5. 05

    Load-tested before shipping

    A factory acceptance test with a load bank, the integrity test of the suppression system and the full documentation before the module leaves.

In this section

Technical pages

Each page below goes one level deeper into the specification. Every figure on them comes from the specification sheet above.

  1. 01

    Envelope and security

    The envelope is what the IT never notices: fire from outside held for 60 minutes, a burglar held at RC3, salt air held for decades, and a floor that carries the racks and keeps a leak inside.

    Read the page
  2. 02

    Power

    The technical room holds the power chain: the incoming supply, the architecture from single path to 2N, the conversion to -48 V DC and 230 V AC, the batteries and the distribution to every rack.

    Read the page
  3. 03

    Cooling

    Air-cooled at 5 to 10 kW per rack as the typical design point, with the aisle contained and the room kept tight. Higher density and liquid cooling are engineered on request.

    Read the page
  4. 04

    Fire and monitoring

    Clean-agent suppression in a room that is tested to hold it, detection that sees smoke before it is smoke, and a monitoring layer that reports every sensor over SNMP and Modbus.

    Read the page
  5. 05

    Process and factory test

    The module is engineered once and built as many times as the programme needs. Before it ships it runs under a load bank in our plant, and the suppression system is tested in the room it protects.

    Read the page

Specification sheet

The published specification. What is not on this sheet is settled in the offer.

Specification sheet
Format and layout
FormatISO 20 ft or 40 ft High Cube to ISO 1496-1 with CSC, ships as a standard container; or wide-body stationary technical module (non-ISO) for larger IT rooms
LayoutIT room plus technical (power) room, separated by an EI 60 fire-rated partition and door
Racks42U to 49U, 600 or 800 mm wide, 1,000 or 1,200 mm deep; from 5 racks per module; multi-module scaling with one repeatable design
DensityTypically 5 to 10 kW per rack air-cooled; higher density and liquid cooling engineered on request
Envelope and security
EnvelopeEI 60 walls, roof and floor; A1 non-combustible mineral wool sandwich panels; external trapezoidal cladding to RC3 burglar resistance (EN 1627); sloped roof for drainage and snow load
DoorsEI 60 / RC3 personnel doors with anti-panic hardware, prepared for access control; ISO cargo doors kept for equipment access on ISO modules
FloorSeal-welded steel deck up to 2,000 kg/m², local reinforcement under racks and battery cabinets, ESD conductive finish, floor cable channel
CorrosionISO 12944 up to C5 (marine), durability High; stainless A4 fasteners and EPDM seals for coastal sites
PenetrationsSealed multi-cable transit frames; power and telecom entries separated; sealed refrigerant and condensate entries
BaseRaised steel installation frame, anti-vibration supports, levelling feet, entrance stairs and platform
SecurityPrepared for access control, CCTV and intruder alarm
Power
Power input400 V AC, 3-phase, 50 Hz, TN-S
Power architectureFrom single path (N) up to 2N: two independent A/B paths, generator input, two ATS in cascade, EPO
Power conversionModular power system with guaranteed -48 V DC and 230 V AC outputs, hot-swap rectifier and inverter modules, battery strings per side; or conventional AC UPS
BatteriesVRLA or lithium-ion, autonomy sized per project; optional solar input through DC chargers
DistributionPer-rack DC and AC distribution with fuse-switch disconnectors, optional monitored PDUs; metering on the incoming supply and on every load section
Cooling
CoolingN+1 precision DX units (wall-mount or in-row) with free cooling and EC fans; hot and cold aisle containment; separate split unit for the technical room; condensate drainage
AirNo separate fresh-air system, so the room stays tight for gas suppression; air exchange through free-cooling dampers
Fire and monitoring
FireFK-5-1-12 clean-agent gas suppression with pressure relief dampers; aspirating smoke detection (ASD) plus point detectors; sounders, start and stop buttons; enclosure integrity (door fan) test per NFPA 2001 / ISO 14520
MonitoringEMS controller with temperature, humidity, pressure, smoke, water leak, PIR and hydrogen sensors; SNMP, Modbus RTU/TCP; DCIM supervision layer
Process and service
TestingFactory acceptance test in our plant including a load-bank test; integrity test of the suppression system; CE documentation
Warranty and service24 months on key systems, extendable to 5 years; scheduled inspections

Figures are the published specification of the product family, not of a customer's design. Values marked per project are set in the engineering phase.

The specification sheet is generated from the same data as this page. It is sent with the reply to your enquiry and offered for download when the form is submitted.

Request the specification sheet (PDF)

Standards and references

Standards and references

  • EN 50600 / ISO/IEC 22237
  • TIA-942
  • EN 61439
  • EN 50110 / IEC 60364
  • EN 50173 / EN 50174 / ISO/IEC 11801
  • NFPA 2001 / ISO 14520
  • VdS / EN 54
  • EN 378 / EU F-gas Regulation
  • ISO 1496-1 / CSC
  • ISO 12944
  • EN 1627
StandardCovers
EN 50600 / ISO/IEC 22237Data centre facilities and infrastructures
TIA-942Telecommunications infrastructure for data centres
EN 61439Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies
EN 50110 / IEC 60364Operation of electrical installations; low-voltage installations
EN 50173 / EN 50174 / ISO/IEC 11801Generic cabling and its installation
NFPA 2001 / ISO 14520Clean-agent gas suppression and the enclosure integrity test
VdS / EN 54Fire detection and alarm components
EN 378 / EU F-gas RegulationRefrigerating systems and refrigerants
ISO 1496-1 / CSCThe ISO module as a freight container
ISO 12944Corrosion protection by paint systems, up to C5
EN 1627Burglar resistance of the cladding and doors, RC3

The standards the design is engineered to. Where a standard calls for a test or an accreditation, it is carried out per project by an accredited third-party laboratory or the competent authority.

FAQ

Questions a buyer asks

Has Tanax delivered a containerized data center?

The module is integrated with a technology partner who has delivered containerized data centers for telecom operators. Tanax builds the shell, the envelope, the base and the floor and carries the responsibility for the module; the integration is done together in our plant.

ISO module or wide-body?

An ISO 20 ft or 40 ft High Cube ships as a standard container and keeps its cargo doors for equipment access. The wide-body module is stationary and non-ISO, for a larger IT room. Both carry the same envelope, power and cooling architecture.

Which density is the design point?

Typically 5 to 10 kW per rack air-cooled. Higher density and liquid cooling are engineered on request.

Is the module tested before it ships?

Yes. A factory acceptance test in our plant including a load-bank test, and the integrity test of the suppression system. The module ships with the protocols and CE documentation.

What is the warranty?

24 months on key systems, extendable to 5 years, with scheduled inspections.

Specification

Shell

Base
new one-way ISO 1CCC / 1AAA high cube, CSC re-inspected with new plate
External
6,058 / 12,192 / 13,716 × 2,438 × 2,896 mm
Structure
EN 1090-1 EXC2, welded EN ISO 3834-2, ISO 9001
Corner castings
ISO 1161 retained, forklift pockets, stackable

Floor

Distributed load
2,000 kg/m² standard
Point load
Local reinforcement under rack feet
Cross-members
Tight pitch (a standard container is ~460 mm)
Deck
6 mm S355 welded tight, no plywood; forms a liquid-tight tray
Uprated option
3,000 kg/m² available

Envelope

Insulation
100 mm mineral wool, Euroclass A1, λ ≈ 0.035 W/m·K
Internal lining
0.8 mm galvanised sheet on a supporting grid

Coating

Preparation
blast to Sa 2.5 per EN ISO 8501-1
System
Zn-epoxy 80 µm + epoxy MIO 120 µm + PU 60 µm = 260 µm
Durability
ISO 12944 C4-H / C5-M, high durability category

Provisions

HVAC openings
2 (20 ft) or 4 (40 / 45 ft), framed and hooded, ready for your units
Cable transits
HV/LV transit plate with sealed glands
Doors
insulated personnel door with anti-panic hardware
Other
earthing points, data plate, CSC plate, inspection protocol

How it is built

The decisions behind the numbers

Tanax has not yet delivered a completed data-centre module. It has delivered the engineering that one is made of: structural floors, C4-H coating systems, cable transit plates, HVAC frames, ISO-compliant modified shells, under other programmes. This page says exactly that. It converts better than a claim that does not survive a site visit.

The floor is the product.

A standard container floor is plywood on cross-members at roughly 460 mm centres. That is fine for cargo and useless under a rack. Tanax replaces it: cross-members at a tight pitch, decked with 6 mm S355 welded tight. Two consequences. First, 2,000 kg/m² distributed, with local reinforcement under the rack feet. Second, the deck is liquid-tight, so a coolant leak or a suppression discharge stays inside the module.

The coating decides the twenty-year cost.

260 µm in three layers over a Sa 2.5 blast. That is ISO 12944 C4-H to C5-M, high durability. It is materially more expensive than a two-coat system and it is why the module is still a module after two decades outdoors.

Mineral wool, not PIR, and that is deliberate.

PIR gives a better lambda per millimetre. It is also combustible. In an enclosure full of energy the reaction-to-fire class matters more than the last few percent of thermal performance, so the default is 100 mm A1 mineral wool. PIR is available on request where the thermal number is the binding constraint.

Provisions, not plant.

Tanax frames and hoods the openings, plates and glands the cable routes, fits earthing points and mounting positions, and tests the shell. The cooling units, the PDUs, the racks and the suppression system come from you or your integrator and drop into positions that already exist. That split keeps responsibility clean and keeps the price defensible.

Passthrough or non-passthrough changes the product.

A passthrough module has a service aisle, internal lighting, escape hardware and a personnel door. A non-passthrough module has doors along its full length and no aisle, so racks fill the entire volume. It changes the price, more on longer units, and it is the first question to settle.

Configurations

Variants and where to find them in the catalogue

  • No photograph yet

    20 ft IT module

    • 1CCC HC
    • 2,000 kg/m²
    • 2 HVAC openings
    • passthrough or not
    View SKUs
  • No photograph yet

    40 ft IT module

    • 1AAA HC
    • 4 HVAC openings
    • higher steel content in the floor
    View SKUs
  • No photograph yet

    45 ft IT module

    • 13,716 mm
    • pallet-wide option
    • road permit in most EU states
    View SKUs
  • No photograph yet

    Uprated floor variant

    • 3,000 kg/m² distributed, for high-density racks
  • No photograph yet

    Shell only, integrator fit-out

    • delivered blasted, coated, insulated, plated and tested

Standards

What we build to and what we issue

  • ISO 668:2020 Amd 1
  • EN 1090-1 EXC2
  • EN ISO 3834-2
  • ISO 12944
  • EN ISO 8501-1 / ISO 2808
  • EN 13501-1
  • CSC 1972
StandardWhat it covers
ISO 668:2020 Amd 1Dimensions and designation
EN 1090-1 EXC2Steel structure execution
EN ISO 3834-2Welding quality
ISO 12944Coating durability categories
EN ISO 8501-1 / ISO 2808Surface preparation and coating thickness
EN 13501-1Reaction to fire of the insulation, class A1
CSC 1972Safety approval after modification

Documentation issued

Structural calculation for the floor as built, coating specification and measured thickness report, insulation reaction-to-fire declaration, dimensional inspection, CSC plate and certificate, as-built penetration drawing.

Proof

Deployments with a number in them

  1. 01

    2,000 kg/m² floor with local reinforcement under rack feet

    Engineered and priced from the bottom up, material at purchase cost plus co-operation plus direct hours at a fully absorbed rate. The power, cooling, suppression and monitoring are integrated with a technology partner who has delivered containerized data centers for telecom operators.

    Read the case study
  2. 02

    260 µm three-layer coating system

    To ISO 12944 C4-H, already in production use on Tanax's modified ISO work.

Scope

What the price includes, and what it does not

Included

  • Shell
  • Structural floor
  • Insulation and lining
  • Coating system
  • Framed and hooded openings
  • Cable transit plates
  • Doors and hardware
  • Earthing
  • Data and CSC plates
  • Structural calculation
  • Inspection protocol

Not included

  • Racks and IT equipment
  • PDUs and internal electrical distribution
  • Cooling and ventilation units
  • Fire suppression and its certification
  • Delivery to site
  • Third-party structural review beyond our own calculation
If we have not built exactly this before, we will say so and tell you what we have built that is closest. Two prototype programmes in this factory were delivered below cost because nobody said that early enough. We do not do that any more, to you or to us.

Lead times

By variant

VariantLead time
Quotation after an engineering review3-5 working days
First article after drawing approval10-16 weeks, as for every custom build
Serial programmemonthly rate agreed per programme

Engagement

Four ways to buy

01

Buy a catalogue unit

Pick from 94 published SKUs with full specifications, get a price, get a delivery date.

02

Modify a catalogue unit

Start from a standard shell and change what needs changing. Fastest route to a non-standard requirement.

03

Build to your specification

You bring the specification or the drawings, we review them, we build. Prototype and serial priced separately.

04

Subcontract fabrication

You are the prime, we are the hall. EN 1090-1 EXC2 capacity with AQAP 2110 assurance behind it.

Process

Specification to delivery in five steps

  1. 01

    Send the specification.

    A drawing, a tender annex, or three sentences. Whichever you have.

  2. 02

    Review, in writing.

    We tell you what is missing or contradictory before anyone quotes. 3-5 working days.

  3. 03

    Quotation.

    Bottom-up: material at purchase cost, co-operation, direct hours at a fully absorbed rate. 2-3 weeks for a complex build.

  4. 04

    Design freeze and build.

    Changes after freeze are variations, priced and agreed.

  5. 05

    Test, document, deliver.

    Factory acceptance where specified, full document pack, delivery and installation where quoted.

FAQ

Questions procurement asks

Have you built a data-centre container before?

Not a completed one. We have built every part of it, structural floors, C4-H coating systems, transit plates, HVAC frames, modified ISO shells with re-issued CSC, under other programmes. We say so up front.

What floor loading do I need?

Tell us the rack weight, footprint and foot positions and we will calculate it, including transport and, where the site requires it, seismic cases. 2,000 kg/m² is our starting point.

Do you supply cooling?

No. We frame, hood and seal the openings and provide the mounting points. The units are yours.

Why mineral wool?

Reaction to fire class A1. In an energy-dense enclosure that matters more than the last few percent of lambda.

Can you hold the price on a long programme?

On long programmes we recommend fixing the price with an indexation clause tied to steel.

Send us the specification. A drawing, a tender annex, or three sentences.

You will get a written review of it inside a week, whether or not you buy anything.