Data centers in space—is that feasible?
The European Union allocated 2.1 million euros to a research project called Advanced Space Cloud for European Net Zero Emission and Data Sovereignty (ASCEND). The research lasted 16 months, and the EU concluded that placing data centers in space is “technically and economically feasible.” It would also have a positive impact on the environment. Outside the atmosphere, data centers benefit more from solar energy than they do here on Earth. This could therefore be a good solution to the pressure that data centers have placed on the environment and the power grid in Europe and the rest of the world. In fact, another study shows that by 2026, all data centers worldwide will require as much energy as the entire country of Japan. Furthermore, data centers generate significant CO2 emissions through the processing and storage of digital data.
How many data centers need to fit in the space?
ASCEND plans to begin launching 13 data centers into space in 2036, each with a capacity of 10 megawatts. Ultimately, the goal is to have approximately 1,300 data centers in space by 2050, generating a total of one gigawatt of energy. Coincidentally, this is the same year the European Union has stated it aims to become climate-neutral. In principle, it sounds like a great plan, but actually getting those data centers into space won’t be so easy. At the very least, this will require a lot of fuel, since each data center must be launched into space separately. For this reason, another research group is working on developing an environmentally friendly launch method, which would require only one-tenth of the fuel needed to launch the data centers.
Not everyone agrees
The EU’s plan seems well thought out, but many people are still critical of it. Even if the plan were to yield significant benefits, it would also cost millions in fuel to keep all those data centers orbiting the Earth. Another point of criticism is that it becomes more difficult in space to effectively protect the data centers from other, potentially hostile, countries. Despite these concerns, the plan seems to be gaining traction, as Microsoft is also collaborating with the space company Loft Orbital to research AI data centers in space!
Data centers have become indispensable
Data centers now play a crucial role in our society. They ensure that servers remain operational at all times, making digital services accessible every hour of every day. Cooling these data centers is currently the biggest challenge, as they must operate 24/7. Without cooling, they would overheat in no time. Many data centers opt to use water for cooling, as energy consumption would otherwise be too high.
Is water consumption in data centers really that high?
Data centers therefore consume a considerable amount of water for cooling. Whether this is too much is, of course, somewhat relative, but given the current risks of drinking water shortages, it is certainly a valid concern. The Dutch government has since established a protocol known as the “Displacement Protocol.” This protocol stipulates that when a drinking water shortage threatens, access to clean water for non-essential purposes will be restricted. Data centers fall under this category, so there’s a good chance they’ll lose access to the water supply in the height of summer and have to switch back to cooling with electricity. At that point, the data centers will no longer be contributing to a potential water shortage, but it’s actually already a bit too late.
Initiatives to reduce water consumption
Fortunately, many organizations are already working on initiatives and alternatives to reduce data center water consumption. Many data centers are actively pursuing what is known as a “water transition.” They are seeking solutions to reduce their reliance on drinking water and minimize water consumption as much as possible. Pathema, for example, is already working on a sustainable initiative that converts linear cooling systems into circular systems. In this process, water is treated without chemicals and can be reused repeatedly within a data center. With this approach, the water footprint can be reduced by 40% and water consumption by as much as 95%!
What is a data center?
Let’s start at the beginning: what exactly is a data center, and why do we need one? A data center is an industrial, high-security facility designed to ensure that computer servers running digital applications operate 24/7. Nearly all the services we use every day rely on a data center. In some cases, a data center is owned by a single company, but usually, processes from various companies are hosted in a data center. Only very large companies have their own data centers—think of Meta or Google, for example. The servers housed in such a data center require a lot to function properly: the right temperature, rock-solid security, and a well-monitored humidity level. A data center has many advantages, but of course, there are also disadvantages.
Potential issues
You probably realize that a lot of problems can arise in a data center like that. However, these problems aren’t usually as visible as they are, say, at a coal-fired power plant. The issues are somewhat more indirect. Think of things like data centers’ energy consumption and where that energy comes from. Is it all green energy, sourced from wind or solar farms, or is energy derived from fossil fuels also used? Given today’s focus on sustainability, this is naturally a significant issue. In addition, there is also growing criticism of wind farms, so this is no longer an ideal solution to this problem. But how much energy does a data center actually consume? Currently, about 3% of our total national energy consumption in the Netherlands comes from data centers. That might sound like it isn’t much, but it still amounts to 3.2 billion kilowatt-hours!
Do data centers create jobs?
People often think that data centers create a lot of jobs, in addition to other benefits. That makes sense—just look at how massive these buildings are. Unfortunately, however, the reality is quite different once such a center is up and running. While a significant number of people are indeed needed for construction, very few employees are required on-site afterward. Often, these aren’t even Dutch nationals, but expats who are experts in data center technology. So, for the local population, a data center rarely creates jobs. But we’re only talking about on-site jobs here. In the long run, data centers do generate many indirect jobs, for example in hosting, fiber optics, consulting firms, and cloud solutions. The fields of expertise that data centers require for their innovation do, therefore, create more and more jobs. Still, many Dutch people are critical of building data centers because they take up so much space—space where homes could also be built. Given the current housing shortage, it’s not surprising that people are critical of this.
Data centers are desperately needed
So you can see that the Dutch generally aren’t very enthusiastic about building data centers in our country. On the one hand, that’s understandable, but on the other hand, many people don’t realize that we simply can’t do without data centers these days. Especially in the tech sector, we’re heavily reliant on data centers and the technical benefits they offer. We all want to make full use of our smartphones and all the apps on them, such as social media channels and, nowadays, AI features as well, but of course that doesn’t just happen on its own. All those apps and features need data centers to work properly. The demands we place on our electronic devices and the internet are the main reason data centers are necessary in the first place. When it comes down to it, most people will still choose to have them built.
Criticism is mainly local
Most of the criticism regarding the construction of data centers comes from local residents. You’re unlikely to hear complaints from people who don’t live near such a facility. For example, people who live close to a data center are bothered by visual pollution and the fact that the building takes up a lot of space. Furthermore, these buildings aren’t exactly known for their aesthetic appeal. Naturally, you wouldn’t want one of those in your backyard either.
So what are the benefits of data centers?
So far, we’ve mainly focused on the downsides, but of course there are also plenty of advantages to data centers. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be built. The biggest advantage of data centers is that they are extremely reliable and always stay up and running, since they operate on a redundant system. This means that the servers for your Gmail, bank, social media channels, and so on will always remain online and are much less likely to experience problems. For businesses, there’s the added benefit that they don’t have to house their servers on-site, which means they need much less office space. Renting space in a data center is significantly cheaper than renting a larger commercial building. Finally, data centers play a major economic role. The digital sector in the Netherlands accounts for about 25% of our GDP. So you certainly can’t say that data centers aren’t important to our economy!