Frankfurt, August 20, 2024. The emergence of digitalization, Industry 4.0, and the Internet of Things has profoundly transformed the world and our daily lives. This has been accompanied by continuous, enormous growth in the volume of information and data to be processed. This development has also brought data centers into focus for the first time: they form the heart of the infrastructure that channels the massive data streams. And they consume a lot of energy. However, energy has become expensive, and high consumption is not sustainable: do data centers pave the way for digitalization while standing in the way of the energy transition?
Jerome Evans, founder and CEO of data center operator firstcolo, points to the industry’s development: “The fact that data centers are an important factor in the energy transition can hardly be disputed. Most areas of our lives now take place at least partially in the digital world—whether it’s video conferences in everyday work, banking via app, connecting with friends on social media, or streaming series. Accordingly, the flow of information is enormous, and so is the use of data centers.”
Within ten years, IT connection capacity has nearly doubled, which has also led to higher electricity demand: in 2022, this stood at nearly 18 billion kilowatt-hours, compared to about 7 billion less in 2012 [Source: Data Centers in Germany: Current Market Developments – Update 2023, Bitkom]. “Data centers have made great technological strides, and efficiency has also improved significantly. However, the volume of data will continue to increase in the future, leading to greater energy demand from data centers,” says Evans. So what needs to be done in the future?
Data centers are where the storage, processing, and forwarding of massive amounts of data takes place. The ongoing shift toward an increasingly digital world with a multitude of new business models places responsibility on data center operators: they must continue to advance the energy efficiency of their data centers—and thus make their contribution to the energy transition.
“Accordingly, there is a constant need for new technology and efficient processes to ensure exactly this. The bottom line is simple: increase performance while simultaneously reducing electricity demand. Given the percentage of energy consumption attributable to data centers—nearly three percent of the total amount in Germany—this is the only way the energy transition can succeed,” the expert explains.
“Thus, even small efficiency gains have significant positive impacts. Renewable energy also plays a crucial role.” According to the federal government’s plans, data centers are to be operated with 50% green electricity starting in 2024, and 100% starting in 2027. “The first steps have already been taken; now it’s about further development and implementation,” says Evans.
Today, regulations and standards apply that form the basis for the construction of new data centers: the EU directive on energy efficiency refers, for example, to EN 50600 or ISO 50001. In addition, the European Commission’s document “Shaping Europe’s Digital Future” stipulates that data centers must be CO2-neutral by 2030. “Such requirements open up great opportunities that might otherwise have remained hidden. In this way, data centers operate significantly more efficiently. They enable the use of innovative technologies and thus lay the foundation for a sustainable future,” says Evans.
“To implement this, planning must be the starting point. For example, cooling accounts for almost half of the data center’s total energy consumption. This makes it an excellent starting point to achieve strong results through good development.” The industry faces many challenges—but also at least as many opportunities.
