Did you know? The market for colocation data centre market is expected to reach  131 billion dollars by 20230. It is showing a significant increase from last year’s 57 billion dollars. As a result, curbing emissions from them has become imperative. So, to tackle this emerging crisis, over 100 international data centre leaders across disciplines will convene at 1-2 February 2024’s Net Zero Data Centre Summit in Berlin, Germany. 

Through case-study-led presentations and multi-perspective panels, attendees will collaboratively map out an achievable roadmap for data centre sustainability. This is for maximizing efficiency and minimizing environmental impacts. This will be done while avoiding performance losses or exorbitant costs. Let us know more in this article. 

Data Centre Sustainability: Profiling Pioneers Charting the Path Ahead 

The speaker lineup of the Net Zero Data Centre Summit features recognized leaders spanning data centre design, engineering, facilities management, sustainability consulting, and more. Their expertise and perspectives will provide valuable insights into data centre sustainability.

Lex Coors, Chief Datacenter Technology & Engineering Officer at Digital Realty, is an internationally respected authority on data centre design efficiency over his 30-year career. Moreover, he has spearheaded innovative modular designs enabling improved power usage effectiveness. As Chair of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact’s Energy Efficiency Working Group, he works with policymakers. The work is on advancing data centre sustainability in Europe.

Bringing an architectural outlook, Jaime Comella Gómez-Aller of AQ Compute specializes in holistic and net zero data centre infrastructure. His heat reuse designs enacted across global projects exemplify how to sustainably transform data centres’ thermal byproducts into community assets. Through groups like the Open Compute Project, he advocates decentralized IT models. He also advocates computational fluid dynamics to optimize efficiency.

Offering an Asia-Pacific perspective, Donna Bridgman leads sustainability initiatives for data centre sustainability. This is as Vice President of Design and Engineering in the region for Vantage Data Centers. She also leverages her technical expertise in mission-critical infrastructure. This is to implement energy, water conservation, and climate impact innovations. Furthermore, she chairs the APAC chapter of iMasons’ diversity-oriented Women Infrastructure Network.

Tobias Kederer, as AWS’ Head of Sustainability and migration in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, assists enterprises. This is in utilizing cloud computing’s scalability to reduce emissions and achieve data centre sustainability. Additionally, his team employs analytics and machine learning. This is to identify efficiency opportunities tailored to each customer’s operations.  These and over a dozen more distinguished experts will share lessons learned implementing data centre sustainability across contexts. 

Data Centre Sustainability: Exploring Interconnected Solutions 

The Net Zero Data Centre Summit’s two-day schedule interrelates tactical efficiency upgrades. This is with big-picture energy paradigms through seven broad themes for data centre sustainability.

The opening day will showcase guidance to increase sustainability within existing structures. So, attendees will gain knowledge on the drivers of sustainability, the biggest challenges, and more. Further sessions will dive into the best strategies for reducing energy consumption and accelerate efficiency, energy-efficient technologies, heat transfer and waste heat management. 

Moreover, you will find in-depth presentations on crucial topics like cost-effective cooling solutions, ESG in data centres, location management, vendor sessions like opportunities by AI, and more. There will also be a panel discussion on the biggest challenges for meeting the net zero targets. 

The second day will commence on an outward approach. This means taking assistance from external factors. So, the sessions will be on areas like accelerating sustainability through AWS cloud, energy procurement for 24/7 carbon-free energy, how can carbon accounting solutions bring efficiency, and more. 

You will also find hosting strategies like Edge and why it is the best, vendor sessions on microgrid contributions and security of energy supply, optimization and integration of data centre ecosystem, and much more. 

Together, the extensive programming synthesizes fragmentary efficiency efforts into a coherent transformation roadmap applicably globally. Participants leave connected to an expanded peer network overflowing with actionable intelligence. This is to drive localized progress.

Accelerating Momentum Beyond Berlin

As data centres’ emissions are projected to escalate from unsustainable levels, the timely Berlin summit promises to become an inflection point for change.  

Although groups like the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact have outlined net zero pathways, practical adoption still lags. The rapidly translating proposals into practice also demand concentrated knowledge sharing. This is between end users, solution providers, and policymakers. 

So, by convening these decision-making stakeholders to workshop implementation plans reflecting constraints worldwide, momentum will accelerate far beyond conference walls. Moreover, attendees will return armed with confidence and connections. This is to catalyze the sector’s progressively mainstreaming sustainability initiatives.

With regulatory scrutiny also mounting, the environmental window for self-directed reforms is closing. Yet genuine commitment remains data centres’ most powerful tool to lead change. So, the Net Zero Data Centre Summit offers the opportunity to join forces to propel the sector’s green transition. So, make sure you do not miss the opportunity!