Fuel and Urea Systems for a Multi-Level Data Centre: LOD 450 Detailed Design

Data centre sites are getting denser, and generator fleets are growing with them. On this project the generator sets were not lined up on one slab — they were stacked on multiple levels. That single fact reshaped the entire fuel and urea design: storage, routing, pressure management, and access all had to be solved vertically as well as in plan.

TEBIN designed the fuel and urea storage and distribution systems for a data centre in Germany, delivered at the German HOAI work stage LPH 5 (execution design) and developed from concept through to Level of Development (LOD) 450 detailed design. Andrii Sheronov led the project as Project Manager.

How was the fuel storage arranged?

The fuel storage solution comprises 3 × 100 m³ tanks arranged across multiple levels. TEBIN developed the full spatial coordination and interconnection logic for the tanks from concept through to LOD 450 detailed design, including all supporting infrastructure and secondary containment provisions.

Multi-level tank placement is unusual for fuel systems of this scale. It ties the storage design directly to the building structure, vertical circulation, and the distribution network, so the tank arrangement could not be developed in isolation from the rest of the facility.

What did the urea (DEF) system cover?

Diesel generator sets with exhaust after-treatment consume urea solution — diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) — so the urea system is part of the emergency power infrastructure, not an accessory. TEBIN designed the complete urea system around 4 × 10 m³ DEF tanks, covering the storage arrangement, filling infrastructure, and distribution routing to the generator sets.

The urea system was fully integrated within the multi-level site layout and coordinated against the fuel system, so both networks could share the building without competing for the same routes, rooms, and access zones.

How do the filling and pumping nodes keep the system operable?

TEBIN developed the full layout and piping design for one dedicated fuel filling cabinet and one dedicated urea filling cabinet, alongside 2 combined pump rooms serving both media. Each node was equipped with bypass arrangements to ensure operational continuity and maintenance flexibility across both the fuel and urea circuits.

Bypass logic matters in mission-critical infrastructure because maintenance is not optional. A pump or valve must be serviceable without taking the emergency power system out of readiness.

What did vertical generator stacking demand from the distribution design?

Fuel and urea distribution was coordinated across a vertically stacked generator arrangement, with units positioned on multiple levels. The design had to ensure correct routing, pressure management, and access provisions throughout the riser and distribution network — every level added static head, routing constraints, and maintenance interfaces that a single-level plant never sees.

How was the next zone designed in before it existed?

The system was developed with full provision for a future tie-in to the adjacent zone: reserved connection points, interface documentation, and spatial allowances. When the neighbouring area was brought online, the connection could be made without reworking the live installation. That expansion became its own TEBIN project — the adjacent zone expansion and tie-in, presented separately in this portfolio.

Project outcome

TEBIN delivered the complete detailed design across all system nodes to LOD 450, producing the full drawing and scheme package — P&IDs, general arrangements, isometrics, support drawings, and equipment schedules — through to As-Built, while coordinating continuously with the civil, architectural, electrical, controls, and vendor disciplines. The result is a fuel and urea infrastructure that works with the building's vertical logic and is already prepared for the site's next phase.