Tillion LogBook – David Hall – CTO
Introduction: The Lean Mandate
When Azora set out to create Tillion, Pete and I were brought in to chart the course and build the company from the ground up. From the beginning, our ambition wasn’t to launch just another data center provider — it was to rethink the architecture of the business itself. In an industry where legacy players are often constrained by vertical integration and “not-invented-here” thinking, we chose a different path: Extreme Agility. If we wanted to build a company as flexible and innovative as our customers require, we had to keep the organization lean, efficient, and fundamentally collaborative.
The Power of Partnerships: Engineering the Future of Data Centers at Speed
The Great Inflection Point
We are operating against the most volatile industry backdrop of the last 25 years. The AI revolution isn’t just a buzzword—it is a physical transformation of infrastructure. We are seeing a massive, simultaneous shift toward:
- High-Density Liquid Cooling: Moving beyond air-cooled limitations to support massive GPU clusters.
- High-Voltage DC Distribution: Eliminating conversion losses to meet the grueling efficiency demands of modern compute.
The Strategy: Open Innovation as a Core Value
We knew that to outmaneuver the giants, we couldn’t work in a vacuum. Our secret weapon is our Open Innovation Partnership model. By treating our vendors not as “suppliers” but as co-engineers, we accelerate our R&D and de-risk our delivery. This commitment was solidified when Carolle Vallee joined as our fourth team member to lead Partnerships and Procurement—elevating relationship-building to a foundational executive function.
Strategic Procurement: Beyond the Transaction
In the traditional data center model, procurement is often a “race to the bottom”—a search for the lowest bidder that frequently results in rigid contracts and misaligned incentives. At Tillion, Carolle Vallee has pioneered a Partnership-First Procurement model.
The Carolle Vallee Method: Co-Innovation over Commodities
By integrating Carolle into the executive core from day one, we moved procurement from the end of the design phase to the very beginning. This allows us to:
- De-Risk the Supply Chain: In a world of long lead times for transformers and switchgear, Carolle’s “Open Innovation” approach creates transparent, long-term roadmaps with our partners.
- Shared R&D: Instead of buying off-the-shelf products, we work with partners to “ruggedize” and customize tech—like our 800VDC distribution—to fit the specific high-density needs of AI.
- The “Zero-Downtime” Compact: Our partners aren’t just delivering hardware; they are integrated into our Digital Twin ecosystem, ensuring that their sensors and data feeds align perfectly with our operational software.
The Zaragoza Challenge: 300MW by 2028
The Zaragoza Challenge: 300MW by 2028
Our mission is massive in scale and uncompromising in quality. We are currently developing 300MW of capacity at our Zaragoza 1 site, with an ambitious “Ready for Service” (RFS) target in 2028.
To reach this, we are deploying a suite of “Next-Gen” technical pillars that require deep partner integration:
- The Digital Twin: A full-scale virtual replica to support zero-downtime operations and predictive maintenance.
- Hybrid Block-Redundant Electrical Platform: A unique architecture designed for maximum resilience without the waste of traditional 2N setups or the complexity of distributed redundant. In the process – this allows us to be much more flexible around power density.
- Voltage Flexibility: Native support for 800VDC and 415VAC distribution to accommodate diverse hardware.
- Ultra-Efficient Generation: A medium-voltage cooling and power platform designed to put every watt towards useful compute.
- Universal Cooling: Flexible options that allow every single rack in the facility to toggle between liquid and air cooling seamlessly.
Conclusion: The Chorus of “Can Do”
When we presented these aggressive specs to our partners, we didn’t find hesitation. We found a shared ambition. The response was a unanimous chorus: “Together, we can do this.” At Tillion, we aren’t just building data centers; we are building an ecosystem capable of powering the AI century.
