4 Possibilities for the Data Centres of the Future

As technology progresses, data centres have the opportunity to become more efficient and environmentally friendly. The expansion of edge computing has the potential to transform data processing and delivery, while the incorporation of renewable energy sources could greatly diminish the environmental impact of these facilities. Learn about the four potential directions for the future of data centres today!

Wooden Data Centres

In November 2023, Vrtiv introduced TimerMod, an innovative wooden data centre solution. James Walker elaborated on how this groundbreaking concept is designed to assist organisations in lowering their carbon footprint and achieving sustainability objectives. The TimberMod solution, available as a construction option for Vrtiv’s Power Module and SmartMod ranges of prefabricated modular data centres, is environmentally friendly and complies with relevant structural standards. Moreover, it delivers robust performance to withstand seismic activity, wind forces, and various structural demands.

Although wooden data centres might seem like a radical concept, Vertiv is not the first company to have made use of timber as a primary component for IT facilities.

In 2019, EcoDataCentre, a colocation provider, launched a cutting-edge data centre in Sweden renowned for its sustainability. This state-of-the-art facility operates entirely on renewable energy sourced from wind and hydropower. What’s truly remarkable is that the data centre is predominantly constructed using cross-laminated timber, a material known for its exceptional fire resistance due to the layers of wood being laminated.

Numerous experts in the data industry think that utilising wooden data centres could potentially represent the future of this sector, offering a sustainable solution to meet environmental targets.

Flying Data Centres

Data centre science fiction may have taken a step closer to reality after researchers outlined a new system featuring floating IT that utilises the naturally low temperature in the stratosphere for cooling.

The data centre sector has a history of embracing inventive sustainability strategies. For instance, regions with cooler climates, such as the Nordic countries, have successfully utilised geothermal energy for cooling purposes, thereby improving energy efficiency. However, envisioning airborne data centres that could organically cool in the stratosphere while harnessing solar power takes this innovation to new heights. A group of researchers believes that this futuristic concept may become achievable in the near future.

Researchers from KAUST’s Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences, and Engineering division have proposed that data center-enabled high-altitude platforms (HAPs) could achieve significant energy efficiencies. This is due to the naturally low temperatures in the stratosphere and the platforms’ capability to harness solar energy.

The High Altitude Platform (HAP) wouldn’t function as a standalone data centre, but would instead be connected electronically to a conventional ground-based data centre. Nonetheless, the flying data centre could potentially reduce energy consumption by up to 14% by taking on a portion of the workload typically handled by the terrestrial data centre.

The prospect of running a data centre without the need for cooling or grid power is still in its early stages of development, but it presents a fascinating and promising concept for the future.

Subterranean Data Centres

Nestled within an abandoned limestone mine deep underground, Bluebird Underground boasts a cutting-edge data centre facility. This unique location provides an optimal setting for creating a controlled “biosphere” environment. Shielded from the impact of extreme weather fluctuations, the underground facility maintains a constant year-round temperature range of 64-68 degrees, offering unparalleled control over the data centre’s internal environment.

When selecting a data centre, it’s crucial to take into account the potential risks you want to mitigate. This includes considerations such as protection against natural and man-made disasters, the use of underground facilities, the presence of backup generators, and the location of essential equipment below ground level, which eliminates certain potential risks commonly associated with above-ground data centres.

An inactive mine can provide the ideal environment to protect against extreme weather and a lot more and is a location that needs to be considered by data centre operators.

Unmanned Data Centre

An unmanned data centre, also known as a “lights out” data centre, operates without a large on-site staff. These data centres are designed to operate with minimal human intervention, often relying on automation for tasks such as monitoring power and HVAC systems. While traditional data centres may have a small team of technicians on-site for maintenance and oversight, unmanned data centres minimize the need for human presence.

In an unmanned facility, there are no staff members present on-site during regular operations. While occasional maintenance visits may be necessary, the everyday functioning of the facility is completely automated, sometimes going for weeks or even months without any human intervention.

Importantly, people can – and often do – help to operate unmanned data centres. But they do so remotely, relying on network-connected tools to monitor facilities and implement changes.