Exploring greener paths for cooling the digital world
With the boom of AI, global demand for datacentres is projected to increase at an annual rate of 19-22% from 2023 to 2030. To avoid running out of supply, the industry needs to build twice as many data centres as it has since 2000, but in less than a quarter of the time. This exponential expansion raises a pressing question: can we scale without compromising sustainability?
As we discussed in our previous blogs, overheating of data centres can severely impact data safety and lead to hardware damage, performance degradation, increased energy consumption, operational downtime, and reduced lifespan of components. However cooling of data centre could be a significant consumer of natural resources, which can significantly questions its sustainability.
Cooling methods vary by facility size, location, and workload density, but the most used ones are:
Cooling-related water use is increasingly under scrutiny. For example, China Telecom’s hyperscale facility uses as much water annually as 6.6 million people would drink, and as much energy as 250,000 European households.
While cooling water is generally not returned to the environment in a polluted state, the main issue is evaporation: water extracted from local supplies enters the atmosphere, disrupting regional hydrological cycles.
On the energy side, data centers are projected to consume up to 1,000 TWh by 2026, driven in large part by AI and cloud computing. Many still rely on fossil-based grids, which undermines sustainability goals despite energy efficiency gains.
Efforts are underway to decouple digital growth from environmental degradation. One of those is the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, part of the European Green Deal, where sector leaders are pushing the industry toward measurable sustainability targets. Innovative solutions are emerging:
To reduce water use:
To cut energy impact:
HYDROCOOL offers a breakthrough in sustainable cooling. With a circular design and minimal maintenance requirements, HYDROCOOL is an adaptable, forward-looking solution for data centers aiming to meet future ESG targets. Its CO₂-based refrigeration system is closed-loop, non-polluting, and free of environmentally damaging refrigerants like HFCs or CFCs. It operates with:
Traditional data center cooling methods are environmentally costly, particularly in terms of water use and energy consumption. However, sustainable alternatives are available—and increasingly necessary.
Technologies like HYDROCOOL provide a glimpse into a future where performance and sustainability go hand in hand. By embracing innovative, low-impact cooling systems, the industry can meet growing digital demand without sacrificing environmental responsibility.
Sources:
Author: Sofiia Savchenko
Editorial: Guillem Figueras, Lucía Salinas
