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Icelandic datacentres operate on sustainable energy – a mix of geothermal and hydroelectric power generation. Furthermore, cooling is free thanks to the naturally cool climate, and there are three submarine cable systems linking Iceland to other regions – with the next one on the way. The fourth submarine cable system is expected to be ready by the end of 2022. The new system, called Iris, will provide a direct connection from the southwest of Iceland to the west coast of Ireland. Installation of the cable began on 23 May. The need for Iris is just one more indicator of a trend towards using Nordic datacentres to take advantage of sustainable energy. Nordic datacentres are particularly well-suited to high-performance computing applications, such as machine learning, scientific computing, protein folding and modelling of financial markets. Iris will give Iceland an added advantage in respect to its neighbours. The route will run directly to the west coast of Ireland, where there are direct links to Nova Scotia and the east coast ...