Infrastructure

    Investing to protect Denmark’s critical infrastructure against extreme weather

    Denmark’s largest digital infrastructure provider has rolled out a flood prevention and mitigation program to protect its critical facilities. 

    Sector Infrastructure
    Sub-sector Telecommunications
    Location Denmark

    Opportunity

    As the world’s climate gets warmer, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent. In the two decades to 2019, the number of major floods around the world more than doubled and severe storms rose by 40 per cent.1

    For the telecommunications sector, these events can have severe impacts on the critical infrastructure relied upon by communities and the economy for fast and reliable connectivity. Broken facility pipes or flooded equipment can cause sites to short-circuit and result in significant downtime.

    With extreme weather events expected to become more frequent in Denmark,2 TDC NET, the country’s largest digital infrastructure provider3 and a Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) portfolio company, is investing to mitigate the considerable impact these events can have on its data centres, network equipment and other critical infrastructure.


    Approach

    MAM, alongside its co-shareholders, is supporting TDC NET to build greater resilience in its digital network through a DKK10.5 million flood prevention and mitigation investment program focused on its 10 most critical facilities.4

    This program has seen TDC NET install water sensors, alarms and watertight doors to minimise short circuits caused by flooding. The company has increased the frequency of maintenance on its pump and drainage systems and installed emergency power supplies to support continuity of service. The terrain surrounding its sites has also been landscaped to reduce the risk of flooding, with the works reviewed by an external specialised engineering firm to identify further opportunities for improvement.

    In addition, TDC NET’s mobile network now operates across three physical locations to mitigate the impact of short circuits caused by the flooding of mobile equipment. In the event of one location flooding, failover data centres ensure continuity of service.

    Outcome

    These investments are expected to help prevent floodwater damage to TDC NET’s critical assets and reduce remediation costs caused by flood damage.

    Importantly, these measures can help to reduce critical infrastructure downtime, ensuring TDC NET can continue to provide its consumers with fast and reliable connectivity, enabling the telecommunications provider to maintain its position as one of Denmark’s leading mobile networks.

    DKK10.5 million

    investment in data centre climate resilience4

    99 per cent

    of Denmark is covered by TDC NET’s 5G network3

    ~2 million homes

    passed by TDC NET's broadband network5

    Ongoing investment in climate adaptation measures is critical to ensure the resilience of TDC NET's infrastructure, its continuity of service, and to maintain its market-leading position.”

    Natalia Axt
    Managing Director, Digital Infrastructure
    Macquarie Asset Management

    1. The human cost of disasters: an overview of the last 20 years’, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2020
    2. Ted Bartholomeusz, ‘Rising sea levels, storm surges and heavy rainfall: Outlining the impacts of climate change on flood risk in Denmark’, PreventionWeb, United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction, 30 March 2022
    3. TDC NET H1 2023 Results, TDC Net
    4. Over an investment period of 2015-2023
    5. Comprised of 607,000 homes passed with fibre and 1,325,000 homes passed with coax, TDC Net, Annual report 2022.

    Macquarie Asset Management FY23 Sustainability Report

    At Macquarie Asset Management, we view sustainability as part of our fiduciary duty to protect and grow our clients’ assets. This focus also helps us generate positive outcomes for our investee companies and the communities they serve. Our latest Sustainability Report outlines the progress we have made over the past financial year.