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With an initial investment of USD 500 million, Scala Data Centers and Rio Grande do Sul Government Sign Agreement for Largest Digital Infrastructure Project in the State of Southern Brazil

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The “data center city,” boasting an initial IT capacity of 54 MW—greater than the entire Argentine market—will drive the economic recovery of Rio Grande do Sul

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, Sept. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The government of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, through the Department of Economic Development (Sedec), and Scala Data Centers, the leading Latin American platform of sustainable data centers in the Hyperscale market, signed a letter of intent today to enable the construction of the largest and most innovative digital infrastructure project in South America, Scala AI City.

The “data center city” represents an initial investment of USD 500 million (around BRL 3 billion) in the first phase alone, marking a decisive step toward positioning Brazil as a central hub in the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution and transforming Rio Grande do Sul through the economic potential of digital infrastructure. With the signing of this document, the state commits to enabling the necessary regulatory and governmental support, creating the country’s first data center industrial district.

Scala AI City will be established in a strategic area of Eldorado do Sul, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, the capital of the state. The site was chosen for its proven safety from natural disasters (including climate events), abundant energy supply, and real estate capacity that allows for continuous expansion over decades.

This development will be interconnected with Scala’s SPOAPA01 data center in Porto Alegre, which benefits from low-latency connectivity infrastructure and a strategic position for integration with major global hubs. Additionally, the planned connection to the Malbec submarine cable, which links São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires and is expected to pass through the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, offers a significant competitive edge. This location ensures scalability, high resilience, and uninterrupted operations.

“The announcement of an investment in a region so affected by the recent floods is already highly significant, but it goes beyond that. We are looking at an initial investment of USD 500 million with the potential to reach USD 90 billion when fully realized. We must be ambitious and bold with this project, not just dreaming, but actively working to make it a reality. Our commitment is to work diligently at the national level to create a favorable regulatory environment for data centers and issues related to artificial intelligence,” stated Governor Eduardo Leite. “This moment is like a wave that gives us a chance to ride, but it is fleeting. If we do not build this favorable environment immediately, we risk seeing the energy transition happen in other countries, leaving us behind. Acting now is crucial to ensure that Brazil doesn’t fall behind in this important global transformation,” he concluded.

For the state’s Economic Development Secretary, Ernani Polo, the announcement demonstrates that the technology market in Rio Grande do Sul is attractive and growing. “We are an innovative state with many technology-oriented initiatives. Scala’s investment proves that the state has much to offer the sector, such as proximity to Mercosur countries and a favorable business environment,” he said.

“Today, we take a monumental step toward the digital future of Latin America with the creation of Scala AI City. This project, born from a visionary partnership with the Rio Grande do Sul government, represents an initial investment of USD 500 million and the construction of what could be the largest and most innovative digital infrastructure project on the continent. We are not only elevating Brazil to a new technological level but also driving the state’s economic and social recovery, generating thousands of jobs, and promoting the sustainable development of various industries. Scala AI City will be a milestone of innovation, positioning Rio Grande do Sul and Brazil as global leaders in the AI revolution. This is a historic moment that redefines the future of technology and the economy in the region, with the potential to change the future of our country,” said Marcos Peigo, CEO and co-founder of Scala Data Centers.

The construction of Scala AI City will generate more than 3,000 new direct and indirect jobs in the first phase, in addition to boosting a vast ecosystem involving sectors such as energy, civil construction, and telecommunications, among others, creating thousands of jobs that will drive the region’s economic development. Scala is committed to prioritizing local labor and suppliers, promoting the socioeconomic development of the communities surrounding the project, and attracting companies from its supply chain to the region.

The initial IT capacity of Scala AI City will be 54 MW, which is about seven times more than the capacity currently installed in Greater Porto Alegre and larger than markets such as Argentina and Uruguay. Additionally, the expansion potential is enormous, with the possibility of reaching 4,750 MW spread across more than 1,730 acres, making the new campus a unique opportunity for Brazil to establish itself as a global leader in the information technology landscape.

The project will utilize a FutureProof design, allowing the installation of racks that support AI training workloads, with capacities exceeding 150 kW, in contrast to the 20 kW or less intended for other uses. The system also plans to use liquid cooling—a refrigerant-based cooling method that offers greater energy efficiency for this type of application.

Sustainability will be a central development pillar, relying on 100% renewable and certified energy, and adopting cutting-edge technologies to minimize its environmental impact. With the aid of the milder climate in southern Brazil, the data centers will be more efficient and achieve a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) not exceeding 1.2—the lowest in Latin America—and a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of zero, meaning no water will be used in the cooling systems.

The development of Scala AI City is supported by strategic partnerships with global and local stakeholders, ensuring that the project meets the highest international standards.

About Scala Data Centers 

Scala Data Centers is the leading sustainable data center platform in the Hyperscale market. Based in Brazil and supported by DigitalBridge, it was developed to meet and exceed the growing demand for digital access in Latin America. Scala has a highly qualified team of over 1,100 professionals and applies a flexible and innovative approach to delivering exceptional colocation services for customers, cloud software, service providers, and large companies. We customize state-of-the-art solutions for each client with high availability, high rate of energy efficiency, and very high density capable of supporting the AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning) workloads. All this is combined with best sustainability practices guided by our ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) program.  

For more information, visit https://scaladatacenters.com/en/.   

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SOURCE Scala Data Centers

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Strengthening the Foundation for Mass Production: Lead Intelligent’s Warm Isostatic Pressing Machine Accelerates Solid-State Battery Industrialization

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WUXI, China, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Solid-state batteries are at a critical stage of transition from pilot production to large-scale manufacturing. To address key challenges in densification and solid-solid interface contact, Lead Intelligent has developed a horizontal warm isostatic pressing machine that delivers uniform three-dimensional pressure of up to 600 MPa across a wide temperature range from room temperature (RT) to 150°C. The machine achieves temperature control accuracy of ±2°C and pressure control accuracy of ±2%. Integrating automatic loading and unloading with precise, coordinated temperature and pressure control, the machine can increase cell density to over 95%, accelerating the industrialization of solid-state batteries.

As solid-state batteries move toward mass production, two major challenges remain: high impedance caused by insufficient solid-solid interface contact, and the limitations of conventional unidirectional pressing, including uneven density and pronounced edge effects. Based on Pascal’s principle, isostatic pressing applies isotropic pressurization within a sealed chamber to achieve multidimensional material compaction and densification. It is a key processing route for addressing solid-solid interface contact challenges in solid-state batteries.

For the practical requirements of large-scale solid-state battery manufacturing, warm isostatic pressing offers an effective balance between densification performance, production efficiency, and manufacturing cost, making it a highly cost-effective option for mass production. As construction of solid-state battery capacity accelerates, warm isostatic pressing machines are becoming core incremental machines for battery manufacturers’ next-generation solid-state production lines.

Core Technology: Precise Temperature-Pressure Coordination for High-Precision Process Control

Building on its R&D system, Lead Intelligent’s horizontal warm isostatic pressing machine overcomes the “black box” limitations of traditional warm isostatic pressing process by enabling real-time monitoring of temperature and pressure inside the chamber. The machine upgrades from conventional unidirectional pressing to precise temperature-pressure coordination to promote closer contact between electrodes and electrolytes, making it well suited for solid-state battery mass production.

Pressure system: It delivers uniform three-dimensional pressure of up to 600 MPa, with pressure control accuracy ≤±2%. Automatic pressure compensation and emergency depressurization functions keep pressure fluctuations within ±2% during a 30-minute pressure holding period, ensuring process stability and repeatability.

Temperature system: The working temperatures can reach up to 150°C, and can be adjusted within a wide operating range from room temperature (RT) to 150°C, with temperature control accuracy of ±2°C. The initial heating time to 150°C takes no more than three hours, balancing process adaptability with mass production cycle-time requirements.

Chamber specifications: The working chamber inner diameter is ≥400 mm, the effective length is ≥4,000 mm, and the volume is around 500 L. It accommodates batch processing of workpieces in various sizes and meets the capacity requirements of GWh-scale production lines.

Designed for Mass Production: Comprehensive Optimization for Large-Scale Manufacturing

For GWh-scale manufacturing, warm isostatic pressing machines must do more than meet core process specifications. They shall also coordinate with whole line cycle time, logistics systems, and upstream and downstream processes. To meet these requirements, Lead Intelligent has optimized machine structure, automatic operation, and safety systems in parallel.

Horizontal Design for Continuous Production Lines

The horizontal working chamber and automatic loading and unloading design significantly reduce factory height requirements while seamlessly integrating with automatic logistics systems to meet the needs of continuous production and material transfer between upstream and downstream processes, adapting to takt-based operation on large-scale production lines. Electrodes and solid electrolytes can be stacked and assembled before being loaded into the chamber for pressing and densification, simplifying process flow.

Full-process Automation to Minimize Manual Intervention

The machine enables unmanned operation throughout cell pretreatment and material box circulation. It integrates four key functions: cell hot air preheating, cold air drying and cooling, automatic fixture loading and unloading, and material box automatic circulation. The machine covers the entire workflow including loading, pretreatment, isostatic pressing and unloading, minimizing manual intervention and improving production efficiency and process consistency within each batch.

Multi-Layered Safety Controls for Reliable Operation

The machine incorporates a comprehensive multi-layered safety assurance system. At the foundational level, the machine is equipped with dual pressure and temperature monitoring for the chamber, together with pipeline pressure-relief ports to safeguard machine operation. In addition, an innovative triple deformation monitoring system provides real-time monitoring to enhance operational safety and maintain process precision.

As a world-leading provider of intelligent manufacturing solutions for the new energy industry, Lead Intelligent has completed the full-process layout for solid-state battery manufacturing, covering key stages including dry electrode processing, high-precision stacking, warm isostatic pressing, and formation and grading. The company has the capacity for batch delivery of GWh-level solid-state battery whole line solutions.

Looking ahead, Lead Intelligent will continue to strengthen its intelligent manufacturing equipment capabilities, accelerating the industrialization of solid-state batteries and other advanced battery technologies and contributing LEAD power to the global new energy industry.

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SOURCE LEAD Intelligent

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Ascendion Expands AI Advisory Community with Four Global Business and Technology Leaders

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Former Global CTO of Banco Santander, former Group CIO of Currys, former CEO of IBPAP, and former Microsoft CVP and CTO of AI join the advisory community

Advisors will provide guidance on AAVA platform innovation, AI strategy, C-suite alignment, and enterprise adoption across Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and the UK

The growing community of advisors will bring practitioner perspective closer to Ascendion as enterprises move AI from experimentation to governed, production-scale outcomes

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ascendion, an AI-native software engineering company, today announced the appointment of four global business and technology leaders to its AI Advisory Community: Andy Gamble, Jack Madrid, Julieta Ross, Ph.D., and Joseph Sirosh, Ph.D. 

The advisors bring perspectives rarely found in one group: executives who answered to Boards, regulators, and C-suites for what technology actually delivered; a builder of AI and data platforms at global scale; and a leader who shaped one of the world’s largest technology-services and talent ecosystems. Their experience spans banking, high-tech, media, and retail. Each will work directly with Ascendion’s regional and engineering leaders, so their counsel reaches the decisions it is meant to shape. 

“We are changing how software gets built. Enterprise leaders have moved past experiments. They want AI that delivers outcomes boards can measure and risk they can manage. Andy, Jack, Julieta, and Joseph have the experience and know where transformation succeeds. They will challenge our thinking, raise our ambition, and help us navigate a period of intense — and exciting — change,” said Karthik Krishnamurthy, CEO, Ascendion.  

Each advisor will map to a different part of the business, strengthening Ascendion’s alignment with leadership communities across the globe. 

Julieta Ross, Ph.D., former Global CTO of Banco Santander, brings two decades of leading technology inside global banks, along with public-company board experience. She will work with Ascendion’s leadership on executive relationships, go-to-market strategy, and growth, and will help the company meet the governance, regulatory, and risk expectations that banking and financial services leaders place on AI. 

Andy Gamble, former Group CIO of Currys plc, has spent nearly three decades as a technology buyer and transformation leader across consumer electronics, industrial, and retail businesses. He will advise Ascendion’s work across Europe and the UK, with a focus on consumer goods, manufacturing, and retail, and will share what executive teams and Boards expect from a technology partner. 

Joseph Sirosh, Ph.D., former Microsoft CVP and CTO of AI, has spent his career building and scaling machine learning platforms in the high-tech industry. He will advise Ascendion’s engineering leadership on the evolution of AAVA and its broader platform strategy as AAVA becomes an orchestration and harness layer for enterprise AI. 

Jack Madrid, former President and CEO of IBPAP, spent five years leading the industry association behind one of the world’s largest technology and business-services ecosystems, centered in the Philippines. He brings robust experience working across industries, including banking, high-tech, and media, and will advise Ascendion on Asia-Pacific markets and on how AI is reshaping global delivery, skills, and workforce models. 

Together, the advisors give Ascendion an outside perspective on the full spectrum of enterprise AI, from agentic platform strategy and product engineering to industry alignment and delivery. They will add capacity to Ascendion’s ongoing work on AI governance, helping ensure trusted impact from AI-native software engineering, and their practice-based insight will inform how Ascendion applies its Engineering to the Power of AI™ approach to commercial models, platform design, service execution, and workforce development. 

About Ascendion

Ascendion is a global AI-native software engineering company delivering trusted business outcomes – capital unlock, innovation velocity, lower risk – to 250+ enterprise clients. The company delivers business outcomes at scale by combining expert engineers, AI agents, and AAVA, Ascendion’s agentic AI platform. Together, they design, engineer, and operate production-ready software that improves everyday work and life. Learn more at www.ascendion.com.

Engineering to the Power of AI™, Engineering to Elevate Life™, and AAVA™ are trademarks or service marks of Ascendion. AAVA™ is pending registration. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

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Canara HSBC Life Insurance Earns ‘Leader’ ESG Rating from NSE Sustainability Ratings & Analytics

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Achieves ESG score of 71, with strong performance across environmental stewardship, governance and stakeholder well-being

NEW DELHI, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited (“Canara HSBC Life Insurance”) has been recognised in the ‘Leader’ Rating Category in the FY2026 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) assessment conducted by NSE Sustainability Ratings & Analytics Limited. The Company achieved an overall ESG score of 71, including an Environment score of 79, Governance score of 75 and Social score of 63, reflecting its continued focus on sustainable business practices, stakeholder welfare and strong corporate governance.

The assessment highlighted the Company’s environmental performance, including greenhouse gas emissions from direct operations and energy consumption that are below industry averages, significantly lower energy and waste intensity compared to peers, and strong waste recycling and recovery practices.

On the social front, the assessment recognised the Company’s focus on employee well-being and workplace safety, including a lost-time incident rate of zero, no employee fatalities during the year, and 100% employee coverage under health and safety training. The assessment also noted a balanced workforce, with women accounting for 36.69% of employees, and customer complaint frequency below relevant benchmarks.

The governance assessment recognised Canara HSBC Life Insurance’s robust oversight framework, including Board independence levels exceeding regulatory requirements, strong independent representation across key Board committees, and comprehensive anti-corruption and sustainability governance policies.

Anuj Mathur, MD & CEO, Canara HSBC Life Insurance, said, “Being recognised in the ‘Leader’ category is a strong affirmation of our belief that sustainable growth and responsible business practices go hand in hand. At Canara HSBC Life Insurance, ESG is not a standalone agenda but an integral part of how we create long-term value, manage risk, strengthen stakeholder trust and build organisational resilience. As we continue to grow, we remain committed to embedding these principles across our business and delivering meaningful outcomes for our customers, employees, shareholders and communities.”

The FY2026 ESG assessment was conducted by NSE Sustainability Ratings & Analytics Limited using a structured, sector-specific framework that evaluates companies across environmental, social and governance parameters. The assessment considers an organisation’s performance, policies, disclosures, governance practices and management of material ESG risks and opportunities. It is based on publicly available information, including annual reports, Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reports (BRSR), stock exchange filings, company disclosures and other public sources, and benchmarks companies against relevant industry peers.

About Canara HSBC Life Insurance

Incorporated in 2007, Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited is a public listed company co-promoted by Canara Bank (36.5%) and HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited (25.5%), with the remaining shareholding held by public shareholders, including Punjab National Bank (13%). As a bancassurance-led insurance company with its corporate office at Gurugram, Haryana and 107 branch offices as of September 30, 2026, pan India, Canara HSBC Life brings together the trust and market knowledge of public and private banks.

For more than 18 years now, Canara HSBC Life Insurance has sold insurance products to customers through multiple channels and a well-diversified network of Canara Bank, HSBC Bank and its other bancassurance partners located in multiple Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities across the country. Canara HSBC Life Insurance has a vast portfolio of life insurance solutions and offers various products across individual and group spaces comprising of life, term plans, retirement solutions, credit life and employee benefit segments through partner banks and digital channels.

With an aim to provide simpler insurance and faster claim process, Canara HSBC Life Insurance intends to keep the promises of their customers alive with their ‘Promises Ka Partner’ philosophy.

For further press queries email us on prateek.sharma@canarahsbclife.in

 

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