AI and sustainability: The twin pressures on data centres

Data centres are swiftly evolving to meet the dual pressures of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads and sustainability demands. As AI continues to drive significant growth in capacity and investment, operators must tackle challenges like increased electricity consumption, cooling requirements, and water usage. The need for innovation in energy efficiency and green technologies has never been more critical, with experts from GlobalData highlighting these pressing concerns.

The Strategic Intelligence report by GlobalData, titled “Data Centres,” underscores that AI workloads are stretching the boundaries of data centre capacity. With the majority of AI training occurring in large-scale facilities, data centres now provide essential services and stability needed for modern digital life.

Investment in data centre infrastructure is reaching unprecedented heights. Industry giants such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta have collectively reported a 2024 capital expenditure of $245 billion. This figure is projected to rise to over $360 billion by 2025, largely driven by AI-centric investments.

AI models require high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, specialised chips, significant memory, and advanced cooling systems. These elements position modern data centres as indispensable for powering AI innovations.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts a doubling in data centres' electricity consumption to about 945 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030, up from 415TWh in 2024. Cooling systems and water usage also form significant sustainability challenges.

In response to these demands, tech giants and data centre operators are actively adopting low-carbon energy solutions. The development and implementation of innovative cooling technologies, particularly liquid cooling, are witnessing increased demand as operators strive to curate environmentally friendly solutions.