Table of Contents
Component Categories
Strategic Vision & Purpose
PhotonAI is building Africa's first sovereign, renewable-powered AI infrastructure platform — developed and operated on African soil. PhotonAI-DC-1 at Bikita is the foundational campus: rather than a standalone data centre, it is conceived as a regional AI utility, delivering AI compute, inference, cloud GPU capacity, and managed AI platforms to governments, enterprises, universities, and research institutions across Zimbabwe and, over time, the wider continent.
This RFP seeks strategic partners for the design, costing, and construction of the data centre and its enabling infrastructure — a facility engineered from day one for modular, phased scale-up. The campus is designed as a self-sustaining settlement: a 3,000 m private airport for direct international freight and personnel access, an on-site fuel depot (Jet A-1, diesel, petrol), permanent accommodation for 50 maintenance and security staff, and a dedicated fire station with airfield rescue capability. By controlling the full stack, from on-site solar generation and air logistics through to liquid-cooled AI inference, PhotonAI reduces dependence on overseas compute and positions Zimbabwe as a regional hub for AI infrastructure and innovation.
Every large-scale AI system Africa's population uses today is foreign-built, foreign-hosted, and foreign-priced. PhotonAI-DC-1 changes this — pairing one of the region's strongest solar resources (2,210 kWh/m² GHI) and a river-fed liquid-cooling advantage with sovereign, in-country AI compute, all within a self-sustaining campus served by its own international airport, fuel supply, fire service and permanent staff quarters. Partners who help build this facility participate in one of the most consequential infrastructure programmes on the continent.
Scope of Proposals
PhotonAI is soliciting proposals across the full AI-campus infrastructure stack for PhotonAI-DC-1. Partners may bid on one or more categories. A "Project" may consist of any combination of site enabling works, power infrastructure, shell and data-hall construction, mechanical and electrical fit-out, liquid-cooling systems, compute hardware, and software. Every proposal must be modular and scalable: designs must support incremental build-out from a Phase 1 block toward the full 500 MW licensed envelope without stranding earlier investment.
Site & Civil Infrastructure
Liquid Cooling & Mechanical
Power, Renewables & Storage
Compute, Network & Software
Self-Sustaining Campus Infrastructure
Waste Heat Recovery & Thermal Cascade
Component Categories — Detail
Design-build or EPC construction of a purpose-built, scalable data centre achieving Tier III equivalent uptime, with an optional Tier IV core. Proposals must address the site's high-clay soils and localised rock (geotechnical works), and provide modular / containerised designs that enable rapid scale-up from a Phase 1 block (≈5 MW IT energisation) to ≈20 MW design capacity and beyond, reusing existing on-site buildings (main office, 16 cottages, workshop) where practical. Demonstrated African or emerging-market construction experience preferred.
Direct liquid-to-chip cooling is the primary architecture for PhotonAI-DC-1, exploiting the site's exceptional water access — three adjacent rivers (the Devure river bounds the site to the east and north). Proposals must cover river abstraction under the granted Water Use Licence, treatment, closed-loop recirculation and discharge, CDUs, RDHX and GPU cold plates, targeting a design PUE ≤ 1.25 and rack densities of 30–120 kW. Include hybrid air (CRAC/CRAH) and dry/adiabatic rejection for hot, dry-season ambient conditions, plus a water-use-effectiveness (WUE) strategy. The DLC cooling return (45–60°C) is the primary heat source for the campus thermal-cascade waste-heat recovery system (Category L) — proposals must include isolation valves and bypass architecture to support staged heat offtake without compromising data-centre cooling reliability.
Full power infrastructure: HV/MV transformers, ATS/STS, 2N UPS, smart PDUs, busway, and N+1 backup generation, integrated with the campus 50 MW solar plant and a battery energy storage system (10 MW / 40 MWh Phase 1, scalable). Proposals should present a microgrid-capable architecture that firms intermittent solar and supports the ≥60% renewable target by 2030. Specify interconnection works from the existing on-site 33 kV corridor to the 132 kV Middle Sabi substation (≈38 km).
High-density AI compute for inference, model serving and fine-tuning — the primary Phase 1 workload. PhotonAI is evaluating NVIDIA H100/H200/B200, AMD Instinct MI300X, and equivalents. Proposals must include per-unit and volume pricing, delivery timelines to Zimbabwe via the Beira Corridor (Mozambique) or regional ports, warranty/RMA terms, and firm availability commitments. Multi-year supply agreements aligned to the phased build are preferred.
Integration of the campus 50 MWac (54.8 MWp DC) single-axis-tracking solar plant — 1,440 trackers across 20 PV blocks feeding a 33 kV export corridor — with the data centre load and BESS. Proposals should address ZETDC interconnection, the point-of-connection study (critical-path item), PPA/wheeling structures, and options to scale generation toward the 500 MW licensed envelope. Bankable PVsyst performance is established: 123.9 GWh/year, 29.7% capacity factor, 81.73% performance ratio.
High-speed intra-DC fabric (InfiniBand NDR or 400GbE spine-leaf) for AI clusters, plus resilient long-haul connectivity. Proposals should specify at least two diverse fibre paths to national and regional backbones and integration with undersea cable landing stations via the Beira and Maputo corridors. Address latency to key African demand centres and inter-site expansion for future PhotonAI nodes.
Platforms for infrastructure management (DCIM — power, cooling, capacity), AI workload orchestration (Kubernetes-native GPU scheduling, Slurm), and MLOps (pipeline management, model registry, inference deployment) for a secure multi-tenant sovereign environment. Open-source and commercial proposals are both evaluated; SaaS, on-premises and hybrid options appropriate to a data-sovereign context are required, with metered multi-tenant billing.
Design and construction of a 3,000 m paved runway capable of receiving wide-body aircraft (Boeing 767 / Airbus A330 class and below) carrying staff, spare parts and high-value compute hardware directly to site, eliminating multi-day road transit via the Beira Corridor. Proposals must cover full airfield design including runway (PCN-rated for heavy freight), parallel taxiway, a cargo apron with at least two aircraft parking stands, perimeter fencing (airside/landside separation), ICAO-compliant airfield lighting (CAT I approach minimum), PAPI/VASI visual approach aids, AWOS (automated weather observation), NDB/VOR/DME or GNSS-based instrument approach, and an air traffic control facility. The aerodrome must be licensable under the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) for scheduled and charter international operations.
Design, construction and commissioning of a multi-product fuel storage and dispensing facility serving the campus fleet, backup generators and the private airport. The depot must provide bulk storage for Jet A-1 aviation fuel (minimum 150,000 litres), diesel (minimum 200,000 litres for N+1 generator fleet), and unleaded petrol (minimum 50,000 litres for campus vehicles and staff transport). Proposals must include bunded tank farms compliant with NFPA 30 and Zimbabwean EMA standards, fuel-quality monitoring (filtration, water separation, microbial testing for Jet A-1 per JIG/IATA standards), dispensing infrastructure (airfield hydrant or refueller positions, road-vehicle pumps, generator bulk-fill), spill containment, fire suppression and environmental protection. Address supply-chain logistics for fuel replenishment from regional depots (Harare, Mutare or Beira) and on-site fuel-management systems.
Design and construction of a permanent residential campus for up to 50 maintenance, operations and security staff enabling 24/7 on-site presence. The accommodation must include individual or shared en-suite rooms (single occupancy preferred for senior technicians), a communal dining/mess facility with commercial kitchen, recreation/lounge area, laundry, gymnasium/fitness facility, on-site clinic/first-aid station, and covered parking. The complex should be designed for comfort in the Bikita climate (hot summers, mild winters) with passive cooling, solar water heating, and potable water (borehole or treated river supply). Proposals should consider phased delivery: repurposing and upgrading the existing 16 cottages for Phase 1 mobilisation, with a purpose-built accommodation block for the full 50-person complement at steady state. Address waste management, sewage treatment (package plant), and integration with campus security and access control.
Design and construction of a dedicated campus fire station providing both airfield rescue and firefighting (ARFF) and structural fire response for the data centre, fuel depot, accommodation and solar fields. The facility must meet ICAO Annex 14 ARFF category requirements commensurate with the critical aircraft type using the 3,000 m runway (minimum Category 7), and provide structural response capability for the data centre halls (complementing internal FM-200/VESDA systems). Proposals must include the fire station building (appliance bays, watch room, crew quarters, training area, breathing-apparatus workshop), ARFF vehicles (rapid-intervention vehicle + foam tender), structural pumper, water supply (dedicated tank/reservoir ≥ 200 m³), foam concentrate storage, and a fire-alarm monitoring and dispatch system integrated with data-centre and airfield BMS. Address staffing model, crew training, mutual-aid agreements with Masvingo provincial fire services, and compliance with CAAZ and NFPA standards.
Design and construction of a staged thermal-cascade system that captures waste heat from the river-fed direct liquid-to-chip cooling loop and puts every degree of rejected energy to productive use before final discharge. At Phase 1 design capacity (≈20 MW IT at PUE ≤ 1.25), the cooling system rejects ≈25 MW of thermal energy, with coolant exiting GPU cold plates at 45–60°C — a substantial, continuous, free heat source. Proposals must design a cascaded heat-recovery architecture incorporating: (1) absorption chillers (lithium-bromide cycle, driven by 50–60°C supply water) to produce chilled water for air conditioning in the staff accommodation, mess hall, clinic and airport terminal; (2) domestic hot-water supply via plate heat exchangers for the 50-pax accommodation block and commercial kitchen; (3) heated aquaculture ponds for on-campus tilapia farming (28–32°C optimal), supplying the campus mess and creating local employment; (4) heated greenhouse / aquaponics for year-round vegetable and herb production, with nutrient-rich aquaculture water feeding hydroponic grow beds; (5) sewage-treatment optimisation via waste-heat jackets on the package WWTP digester (maintaining 25–35°C biological process temperature); (6) a community crop dryer using warm exhaust air for post-harvest drying of maize, groundnuts and tobacco for local farmers; and (7) algae cultivation (spirulina/chlorella raceways or photobioreactors) for animal feed, dietary supplement, or carbon-offset biomass. The cascade must be designed so that each stage extracts heat at a progressively lower temperature, maximising total thermal utilisation before final rejection to dry coolers or the river at near-ambient temperature.
Project Description Requirements
Proposals must provide a detailed description of the PhotonAI-DC-1 project — design, scale, and technological capability — engineered as a modular platform. The following minimum technical specifications apply:
Proposals must specify the projected power and IT-load ramp: initial energisation, Phase 1 design capacity (≈20 MW), and the modular pathway toward the 500 MW licensed envelope, with clear decoupling of civil, power, cooling and compute scale-up so that each block is independently financeable and commissionable.
Site & Location — Bikita, Zimbabwe
PhotonAI-DC-1 is anchored on a secured landholding at Devuli Ranch, Bikita District, Masvingo Province — a former diamond-mining estate now dedicated to renewable energy and AI infrastructure. The total available area is 1,658 ha (25-year lease with option to purchase; no resettlement required), of which the campus master plan draws on ≈500 ha for solar, storage, data centre and support, plus an additional ≈120 ha allocated for the 3,000 m private runway, taxiway, cargo apron, fuel depot, staff accommodation campus and fire station. The 1,658 ha estate comfortably accommodates the full self-sustaining campus without encroaching on the solar generation footprint. The following site intelligence is drawn from the project's topographic and site survey reports (WorldView-2 50 cm imagery, terrestrial GPS, 2 m contour DTM).
Location Factors
Access & logistics. The site is entered directly off the A9. Two primary routes serve it: the A4 from Harare via Chivhu (≈404 km) and the A3 via Rusape and Mutare (≈409 km). Regional deep-water port access is via the Beira Corridor (Mozambique) through the Mutare–Machipanda gateway. The campus private airport (3,000 m runway) provides direct international air access — enabling personnel, high-value spares, GPUs and emergency equipment to fly in without road transit, a transformational advantage for a remote AI facility. The site retains usable internal roads, a main office building, 16 employee cottages, a workshop and container offices from prior operations — reusable for construction mobilisation.
Power infrastructure. An active 33 kV line already crosses the site (formerly serving mining via a 750 kVA step-down transformer). As the campus exceeds the capacity of that line, the nearest suitable connection at 132 kV is the Middle Sabi substation, ≈38 km on a straight line — a route respondents should assess for the export corridor.
Water. Three rivers are within reach of the site, with the Devure river bounding it to the east and north; a Water Use Licence is approved, enabling river-adjacent abstraction for construction, operations and liquid-to-chip cooling.
Ground conditions. Soils are predominantly high-clay with localised rock on the southern margin and near the river; a full geotechnical investigation is scheduled and respondents should price foundation solutions accordingly.
Community & environment. 27 families (former mine employees) live on the estate and welcome the project; the Environmental Impact Assessment is completed and certified. Vegetation is low-density scrub with no significant shading objects.
Site-Specific Considerations
Power & Energy
PhotonAI views energy sovereignty as inseparable from AI sovereignty. PhotonAI-DC-1 is powered by a co-located 50 MWac (54.8 MWp DC) single-axis-tracking solar plant with battery storage, grid-interconnected for continuous, firmed operation and licensed to scale to 500 MW. Bankable Year-1 PVsyst performance is established and summarised below; proposals must integrate the data centre load, BESS and grid interconnection into a coherent microgrid.
Capacity Roadmap
The 500 MW licence anchors a modular generation and compute roadmap. Proposals should present power delivery that scales in step with data-hall build-out, keeping each phase independently financeable.
2028
Energy Composition & Effluent
Articulate projected tariff structure and power composition, including renewable percentage at Phase 1 activation (2028) and at 5-year maturity (2030, ≥60% target). Address carbon (Scope 1 and 2), heat rejection strategy, water abstraction, treatment and recirculation, and electronic-waste management. Grid interconnection (ZETDC) and the point-of-connection study are critical-path items to be addressed explicitly.
Reliability Requirements
Provide a Tier I–IV rating and a full reliability description for the scalable design. Address the following in detail:
Self-Sustaining Campus Infrastructure
PhotonAI-DC-1 is conceived not merely as a data centre but as a fully self-sustaining campus — an operational settlement capable of independent function regardless of external logistics constraints. The remote Bikita location, while strategically advantageous for land, solar resource and water, demands that critical support infrastructure be co-located on site. The following four facilities are integral to the campus master plan and are subject to this RFP.
Every element of the self-sustaining campus must be operational before Phase 1 energisation. The airport enables the supply chain; the fuel depot powers both the airfield and the generator fleet; the fire station protects the entire estate; and staff accommodation ensures 24/7 expert presence. Together, they transform a remote site into a credible, investable, internationally operable AI campus.
Private Airport — 3,000 m Runway
The campus private airport eliminates the most significant logistical bottleneck of a remote Zimbabwean data centre. A 3,000 m paved runway (ICAO Code 4D, PCN-rated for heavy freight) enables wide-body aircraft up to Boeing 767-300F and Airbus A330-200F class to land directly on site, carrying international staff rotations, replacement GPUs and server hardware, UPS modules, cooling components, and emergency equipment — without road transit from Harare (≈450 km) or the Beira port corridor (≈600 km by road). This reduces critical-spares lead times from days to hours.
The airfield includes a parallel taxiway, a cargo apron with a minimum of two aircraft parking stands, a passenger terminal/arrivals building for staff processing (customs and immigration pre-clearance for international charter flights), and a control tower with VHF/UHF communications. Navigation aids must support instrument approaches to ensure all-weather operations: GNSS-based approach procedures (minimum), NDB/VOR/DME and CAT I ILS are preferred. PAPI/VASI visual aids, runway edge and threshold lighting (ICAO standards), and an automated weather observation system (AWOS) are required. The aerodrome must be licensable by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) for both charter and scheduled international cargo and passenger operations.
Fuel Depot — Petrol, Diesel & Jet A-1
A multi-product fuel depot underpins both the airport and the data centre's backup power resilience. The facility must store and dispense Jet A-1 aviation fuel (≥150,000 litres, expandable) for aircraft operations, diesel (≥200,000 litres) for the N+1 backup generator fleet and heavy construction/maintenance vehicles, and unleaded petrol (≥50,000 litres) for campus vehicles, staff transport and light machinery.
All tanks must be in bunded containment areas rated to 110% of the largest tank volume, with leak-detection systems, overfill prevention, and separation distances per NFPA 30 and Zimbabwean EMA guidelines. Jet A-1 handling must comply with JIG (Joint Inspection Group) and IATA standards, including filtration, water-separation, microbial testing, and quality-management procedures. Dispensing infrastructure includes airfield refueller parking or under-apron hydrant (future-phase), road-vehicle pump islands with POS metering, and bulk-fill connections for generator day-tanks. Spill containment, interceptor drains, and on-site firefighting foam supply are mandatory. Proposals must address the fuel supply chain from regional depots (NOCZIM/private via Harare, Mutare or Beira) and propose a fuel-management and inventory-control system.
Staff Accommodation — 50 Pax
A permanent residential campus for up to 50 maintenance, operations and security personnel enables the continuous, 24/7 expert presence that a Tier III AI data centre demands. The accommodation campus must include individual or shared en-suite bedrooms (single occupancy preferred for senior technicians and shift supervisors), a communal dining and mess facility with a commercial-grade kitchen capable of serving three meals daily, a recreation and common lounge, laundry facilities, a gymnasium/fitness room, and an on-site medical clinic staffed for first-aid and primary care (with helipad or airport access for emergency medical evacuation).
Design should address the Bikita climate — hot summers with temperatures exceeding 35°C, mild dry-season winters — using passive cooling strategies, cross-ventilation, shaded outdoor areas and solar water heating to minimise mechanical cooling loads. Potable water supply from treated borehole or river abstraction, sewage treatment via a package wastewater-treatment plant (PWTP) with treated effluent suitable for landscape irrigation, and solid-waste management (separation, storage, scheduled collection) are required. Proposals should consider a phased approach: Phase 1 repurposes and upgrades the existing 16 on-site cottages and the main office as interim accommodation during construction mobilisation; Phase 2 delivers the full purpose-built 50-person accommodation block at or before data-centre energisation.
Fire Station & Emergency Response
With no existing fire service within 60 km of the site, a dedicated on-site fire station is both a regulatory requirement for the airport (ICAO Annex 14) and an operational necessity for the data centre, fuel depot and accommodation campus. The fire station must deliver two concurrent capabilities: airfield rescue and firefighting (ARFF) to the ICAO category commensurate with the critical aircraft type (minimum Category 7 for B767-class operations), and structural fire response for the data-centre halls, fuel depot, solar fields and staff accommodation.
The fire station building must include appliance bays sized for a minimum of three vehicles (one rapid-intervention vehicle, one ARFF foam tender, one structural pumper), a watch room with airfield visibility, crew rest quarters for a 24/7 shift roster, a training and drill area, a breathing-apparatus filling and maintenance workshop, and PPE storage and decontamination. A dedicated fire-water reservoir (≥200 m³) with fire-pump house, independent of the campus potable-water supply, is required, along with bulk foam-concentrate storage. The fire-alarm monitoring and dispatch system must integrate with the data-centre BMS, fuel-depot gas-detection, and airfield emergency systems for unified incident management.
Proposals must address the staffing model (full-time crew or a core crew supplemented by trained campus personnel), CAAZ-mandated response times (ARFF vehicles on runway within 3 minutes), crew training and certification, equipment maintenance schedules, and mutual-aid agreements with Masvingo provincial fire and emergency services.
Ownership & Operational Model
Clearly outline the proposed ownership structure and operational model for each element. PhotonAI is open to multiple commercial structures — EPC, design-build, build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT), joint venture, and operate-and-maintain — and will evaluate each on its strategic and financial merits.
Ownership Structure
State whether you propose to build and transfer, build and operate, or co-invest. Address alignment with the project SPV and the phased financing model, including how ownership of solar generation, BESS, shell, M&E, cooling and compute may be structured independently to support modular capital raises.
Operational Model
Describe O&M scope, staffing (with local employment and skills transfer), spares strategy leveraging the on-site private airport for rapid international delivery, remote monitoring, and handover milestones per phase. The permanent 50-pax staff accommodation campus enables 24/7 on-site maintenance and security crews; proposals should describe shift patterns, skills mix, and how the airport and fuel depot are integrated into the O&M model. Reuse of existing on-site buildings for Phase 1 operations and interim staff accommodation should be considered.
Risk Mitigation
Regulatory & Permitting
The project benefits from an advanced permitting position: the Environmental Impact Assessment is completed and certified, a Water Use Licence is approved, a generation licence is granted, and land is secured under a 25-year lease with option to purchase (no resettlement required). Proposals should outline any remaining approvals for the data centre and interconnection, and demonstrate experience with Zimbabwean regulatory bodies (ZERA, EMA, ZETDC).
Grid & Interconnection
Grid integration is the principal critical-path item: the ZETDC grid impact study and point-of-connection allocation to the 132 kV Middle Sabi substation (≈38 km) must be completed. Address interconnection timelines, wheeling/PPA structures, and contingency should grid enablement lag data-hall readiness (e.g. solar + BESS islanding).
Site, Ground & Water Risk
Address high-clay soils and localised rock through an early geotechnical programme; provide foundation options and price contingency. For cooling, address dry-season river flows, abstraction limits under the Water Licence, and closed-loop recirculation to minimise consumption.
Supply Chain, Currency & Geopolitical
Outline de-risking for long-lead items (GPUs, transformers, UPS, CDUs) and import logistics via the Beira Corridor and — once operational — the on-site private airport. Address currency and repatriation (USD-denominated tariffs, offshore collection where structured), import-duty strategy, and local sourcing. Africa-first supply-chain strategies and existing in-country relationships will be viewed favourably.
Aviation & Campus Regulatory
Address CAAZ aerodrome licensing for the 3,000 m runway, including the timeline for a licence to operate international charter and cargo flights. Outline customs and immigration pre-clearance arrangements, Jet A-1 quality-assurance certification, fuel-storage and environmental permits (EMA), and fire-station compliance with both ICAO Annex 14 ARFF requirements and national fire-safety standards. Proposals should demonstrate experience with aviation infrastructure in Africa or comparable emerging markets.
Commercial Model
Proposals must include information and benchmarks enabling PhotonAI to model Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for PhotonAI-DC-1 over a 10-year programme, phased against the modular build. Financial projections should be in USD. For context, the co-located 50 MW solar plant carries a reference CapEx of ≈USD 43.5M and a total funding requirement (incl. contingency) of ≈USD 67.5M at a 30/70 equity–debt split; the data centre CapEx/OpEx is the subject of this RFP.
CapEx Estimates
OpEx Estimates (Annual)
Financial Incentives
Identify applicable Zimbabwean incentives — investment-zone benefits, duty exemptions on renewable and IT equipment, and any special economic or national-project status — and strategies to maximise them. Proposals demonstrating active engagement with the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency and relevant ministries will be prioritised.
Financing Model
PhotonAI places exceptional value on partners who can fund all or substantially all of the capital cost, with PhotonAI repaying over an extended term. Proposals must clearly articulate the proposed financing structure. Acceptable models include, but are not limited to:
State the proposed equity / debt split, interest or cost-of-capital assumptions, repayment schedule, security package, and conditions precedent. The most compelling proposals will minimise PhotonAI's upfront capital outlay while aligning the partner's return with long-term project performance. Proposals that require PhotonAI to fund 100% of CapEx upfront will be evaluated less favourably.
Completion Guarantee
Respondents must indicate their willingness to provide a binding completion guarantee covering the works proposed. The guarantee must commit the partner to delivering the agreed scope to specification and on schedule, backed by meaningful remedies. At a minimum, proposals should address:
Performance Guarantee
Respondents must indicate their willingness to provide a binding performance guarantee warranting that the delivered infrastructure meets or exceeds the specified performance levels for a defined period post-commissioning (minimum 5 years). Performance metrics to be guaranteed include, as applicable to category:
Performance guarantees should be supported by a defined test-and-acceptance regime, ongoing performance reporting, and financial remedies (liquidated damages, service credits, or earn-back mechanisms) where guaranteed thresholds are not met. Proposals offering milestone-linked payment schedules — where a portion of the contract price is released only upon verified performance — will be scored favourably.
Innovation & Waste Heat Recovery
PhotonAI expects its infrastructure partners to be technologically ambitious. Proposals should identify innovations — in design, construction, operations, or sustainability — that distinguish this response from industry norms and exploit the site's unique advantages.
Of particular interest: river-fed direct liquid-to-chip cooling optimised for a hot, dry climate and low PUE; automation in the construction process itself (not just the product); AI-driven facility management and predictive maintenance; modular / containerised data-hall designs for rapid, financeable scale-up; the self-sustaining campus model — innovations in integrated airport-to-data-hall logistics, autonomous fuel management, net-zero accommodation design, and drone-based airfield/solar-field inspection; and community-benefit features such as youth training in solar O&M, electrical skills, aviation ground-handling and firefighting.
Waste Heat Recovery — Thermal Cascade Architecture
At Phase 1 design capacity (≈20 MW IT load, PUE ≤ 1.25), the liquid-cooling system rejects approximately 25 MW of continuous thermal energy. Coolant exits GPU cold plates at 45–60°C — too low for industrial steam, but ideal for a broad spectrum of productive uses on a self-sustaining campus. PhotonAI requires proposals to design a staged thermal cascade in which every degree of rejected heat does useful work before reaching the dry coolers or river at near-ambient temperature. This is not optional — it is a defining feature of the PhotonAI-DC-1 campus and a core expression of the energy–water–food nexus vision.
The hottest coolant return (55–60°C) feeds the absorption chiller first. The chiller's partially-cooled output (40–50°C) feeds domestic hot water and greenhouse floor loops. The next stage (28–35°C) feeds aquaculture ponds and the sewage-treatment digester jacket. Finally, low-grade warm water feeds algae raceways and the community crop dryer before rejection at near-ambient temperature. Each stage extracts value; nothing is wasted.
Proposals under Category L must address the following thermal-cascade stages, designed as modular additions to the primary DLC cooling loop with isolation valves and bypass capability so that no cascade stage compromises data-centre cooling reliability:
Stage 1 — Absorption Cooling (55–60°C intake)
Lithium-bromide absorption chillers driven by the highest-temperature coolant return produce chilled water (6–8°C) for air conditioning in the staff accommodation, mess hall, clinic, airport terminal and fire station. This displaces mechanical (vapour-compression) cooling that would otherwise draw from the solar/BESS system — a significant electrical saving during Bikita's 35°C+ summer months. Proposals must specify chiller capacity (kWR), COP, footprint, and integration with the accommodation HVAC distribution. Redundancy and dry-season performance at peak ambient must be addressed.
Stage 2 — Domestic Hot Water (45–55°C intake)
Plate heat exchangers between the partially-cooled cascade return and the accommodation hot-water circuit provide free hot water for showers, kitchen use, and laundry for 50 staff — eliminating the need for electric geysers or dedicated solar-thermal panels on the accommodation block. Proposals must include storage calorifiers, thermostatic mixing valves (TMVs), Legionella-prevention strategy, and backup electric boost for periods when data-centre load is below design capacity.
Stage 3 — Aquaculture & Aquaponics (28–35°C intake)
Warm water from the cascade (held at 28–32°C via a secondary heat exchanger) feeds covered aquaculture ponds growing tilapia, a species native to the region that thrives at precisely this temperature range. The campus mess kitchen serves 50 staff three meals a day — fresh, on-site-raised protein is a material self-sufficiency advantage for a remote campus. Nutrient-rich water from the fish ponds then feeds a closed-loop aquaponics greenhouse, where the dissolved nutrients support year-round hydroponic production of vegetables, leafy greens, herbs and tomatoes. The greenhouse structure uses waste-heat radiant-floor loops to maintain stable growing temperatures through the cool dry season. Proposals must address pond sizing, stocking density, feed supply, biosecurity, harvest logistics, greenhouse design (passive ventilation, shade cloth, radiant heating), crop selection and yield estimates. This facility also creates local employment outside the technology perimeter.
Stage 4 — Sewage Treatment Optimisation (28–35°C intake)
The campus package wastewater-treatment plant (PWTP) operates most efficiently when the biological process is maintained at a stable 25–35°C. A waste-heat jacket on the digester, fed from the same cascade stage as the aquaculture loop, maintains optimal microbial activity year-round — including through cool dry-season nights when ambient temperatures drop below 10°C. This improves effluent quality, reduces the plant's own electrical heating demand, and ensures treated discharge meets EMA standards for landscape irrigation reuse. Proposals must specify the heat-exchange interface with the PWTP and any modifications to the package plant's thermal design.
Stage 5 — Community Crop Dryer (25–40°C intake)
Masvingo Province farmers dry maize, groundnuts, and tobacco in the open sun, losing yield to rain, pests, and mould. A waste-heat crop dryer on the campus perimeter — warm air (from fin-fan heat exchangers on the cascade return) blown through covered drying racks — provides a controlled, reliable drying environment available to the local community. This reduces post-harvest losses, increases crop value, and generates genuine community goodwill. Proposals must include dryer building design, air-handling and temperature-control systems, capacity (tonnes per batch), throughput and a community-access model. This facility should be operable by local farmers with minimal training.
Stage 6 — Algae Cultivation (25–35°C intake)
Covered raceways or tubular photobioreactors fed with warm, CO₂-enriched water from the cascade's lower-temperature stages grow spirulina or chlorella at accelerated rates. The harvested biomass, dried using additional waste heat, can be sold as high-protein animal feed or dietary supplement, or used to support the campus's carbon-offset and sustainability narrative. Proposals should specify raceway or PBR design, species selection, CO₂ sourcing (generator exhaust capture, if feasible), harvesting and drying process, and projected annual biomass yield. Integration with the aquaculture nutrient loop is encouraged.
Final Rejection — Near-Ambient Discharge
After passing through all productive cascade stages, the coolant returns to the dry coolers or river discharge loop at near-ambient temperature. The thermal cascade is designed so that the data centre's total waste-heat rejection to the environment is minimised in absolute terms — the vast majority of the ≈25 MW thermal load is absorbed by productive campus uses. Proposals must quantify the thermal utilisation rate (percentage of total waste heat put to productive use vs. rejected to atmosphere) and demonstrate that the cascade does not compromise the primary DLC cooling loop's reliability or PUE target.
General Innovation
Beyond the thermal cascade, articulate how your technology roadmap aligns with PhotonAI's 10-year vision — next-generation GPUs, liquid-cooling evolution, the scaling of Bikita from a Phase 1 block toward a 500 MW continental-scale AI utility, and the development of a replicable energy–water–food–compute nexus model for future PhotonAI campuses across the continent.
Evaluation Criteria
Initial proposals will be evaluated on the following weighted criteria. Shortlisted partners per category will be invited to submit full detailed proposals and site presentations. PhotonAI evaluates on an ongoing basis. All respondents will be required to provide binding performance and completion guarantees and a financing structure as part of their full proposal.
PhotonAI places exceptional weight on partners who can de-risk delivery and finance. The most compelling proposals will offer supplier-financed or co-invested structures where the partner funds all or substantially all of the capital cost, with PhotonAI repaying over an extended term (up to 10 years), backed by binding completion and performance guarantees. Proposals that combine full financing, guaranteed completion dates with liquidated damages, and performance warranties tied to measurable SLAs (uptime, PUE, ARFF response times, fuel-quality standards) will score highest. PhotonAI is open to BOOT, lease-to-own, EPC-finance, and vendor-finance models — creativity is encouraged.
PhotonAI reserves the right to negotiate with multiple partners per category and is not obligated to accept the highest-scoring proposal. PhotonAI may decline all proposals in any category without reason. Participation does not limit PhotonAI's ability to pursue similar projects based on independently developed or publicly available information.
Timeline & Process
PhotonAI will evaluate proposals on an ongoing basis. Proposals received before the key dates below will receive priority consideration.
Submission Requirements
Initial proposals must be 25 pages maximum, submitted as a single PDF. Supporting appendices (datasheets, financials, references) may be included as a separate ZIP archive. Proposals may cover one or more categories; a separate response document per category is preferred.
Required Sections (Initial Proposal)
Executive Summary (1 page max). Categories covered; scope covered at PhotonAI-DC-1; maximum IT load capacity; power available by Phase 1 activation; comparable previous projects.
Company Overview. Corporate background, ownership, annual revenue, years in operation, Africa presence, and track record of comparable projects in emerging markets.
Technical Proposal. Detailed response to Sections 03–07, including datasheets, architecture diagrams, cooling schematics, and performance benchmarks — emphasising modular scalability.
Project Deployment Plan. Timeline addressing Sections 04–06: permitting support, geotechnical, civil, structural, equipment delivery (Beira corridor), M&E and cooling commissioning, IT provisioning, and data-hall handover per phase.
Ownership & Operational Model. Response to Section 08.
Commercial Model. CapEx and OpEx benchmarks per Section 10; ownership structure; incentives identified.
Financing Proposal. Proposed financing structure per Section 10 — state the percentage of CapEx the partner is willing to fund, repayment terms, equity/debt split, security package, and conditions precedent. Proposals offering supplier-financed or deferred-payment structures will be scored favourably.
Completion & Performance Guarantees. Statement of willingness to provide binding completion and performance guarantees per Section 10. Outline proposed guarantee instruments (parent-company guarantee, performance bond, bank guarantee), liquidated-damages regime, defects-liability period, and performance metrics to be warranted.
Risk Mitigation. Risk register per Section 09 (regulatory, grid, ground/water, supply chain, currency, aviation) with mitigation pathways.
Campus Infrastructure. Response to Section 07B — airport design, fuel depot, staff accommodation and fire station, including CAAZ licensing strategy, ARFF compliance, and phased delivery plan.
Innovation & Sustainability. Response to Section 11, including a detailed thermal-cascade waste-heat recovery design with quantified thermal utilisation rate, aquaculture and aquaponics sizing, absorption-chiller specification, and community crop-dryer concept.
Financial Stability. Audited accounts (most recent 2 years) or equivalent evidence of capacity to fulfil the contract.
Submission Instructions
Submit all proposals electronically to rfp@photonai.ai with the subject line:
RFP-2026-002 · PhotonAI-DC-1 · [Category A–L] · [Company Name]
Maximum submission: 25 pages (PDF) + appendix ZIP (50 MB max). Proposals submitted after 17:00 CAT on 6 October 2026 will not be considered. To register interest and receive the confidential technical data room, email rfp@photonai.ai with subject REGISTER: RFP-2026-002 before 12 August 2026.
All costs incurred in preparing a response are the responsibility of the submitting firm. This RFP does not constitute a commitment by PhotonAI to enter any contract. PhotonAI will take every effort to protect the confidentiality of all proposals received.
Contact
All enquiries must be submitted in writing to the relevant contact below. Verbal enquiries will not be accepted, and attempts to contact PhotonAI personnel outside the formal RFP process may result in disqualification.
We look forward to receiving your proposals and to partnering on the anchor facility of Africa's sovereign AI infrastructure — a fully self-sustaining campus with its own airport, fuel supply, fire service and staff quarters, built for operational independence at continental scale.
The PhotonAI Infrastructure Team
29 July 2026