AAAS Energy And ChillMine Join Forces To Develop Major Data Center Campus In Botswana Powered By Solar Energy And Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Project

AAAS ENERGY BV, a Netherlands-based energy developer, and ChillMine Corporation, a U.S.-based data center operator, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly develop a new data center campus in Botswana. The partnership aims to create a world-class facility designed to support AI computing, global hyperscalers, and other energy-intensive computing operations.

Maarten Mennes, Managing Director of AAAS, stated, “This MOU with ChillMine is a significant step in our vision to connect sustainable energy development with the digital economy. By combining power from the Solar PV + BESS Project with natural gas projects in Botswana, currently being developed by third parties, we are creating a unique value proposition for global technology companies seeking to expand into Africa.”

Brian Neirby, Co-Founder and CEO of ChillMine Corporation, mentioned, “We are thrilled to partner with AAAS to bring our data center expertise to Botswana. The combination of the energy infrastructure under development and our operational experience will enable us to deliver a best-in-class, high-performance data center campus that can meet the rigorous demands of the world’s most sophisticated technology users.”

The campus will address the increasing demand for reliable, scalable, and cost-effective data infrastructure in Southern Africa. It is intended to serve large-scale cloud providers and other clients requiring continuous, high-capacity power to support their operations. As part of the development, AAAS plans to integrate the data center campus into an Energy Hub and Industrial Park near Palapye.

This hub includes a 250 MW solar PV project with a planned Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) of approximately 100 MW / 400 MWh, which is currently under development. The integrated energy infrastructure is expected to provide a stable and robust power supply, ensuring efficiency and operational reliability for the data center campus.