Building a Greener Tomorrow: The Role of Sustainable Concrete in Data Centre Development

Cement has established its significance over the decades as an undeniably vital building material, with numerous examples showcasing its remarkable longevity and structural integrity. The modern construction industry places substantial confidence in the use of cement in concrete, which has become the most widely utilised human-made material on our planet.

However, it is crucial to acknowledge a pressing concern: the concrete industry is responsible for a staggering 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it the third-largest contributor to pollution. A significant proportion of these emissions originates from the cement-making process, where fossil fuels are employed to heat and combine limestone and clay. This process emits approximately 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every ton of cement produced, a figure that corresponds to the emissions generated by an average passenger vehicle travelling nearly 1,500 miles.

As the data centre industry seeks to address its environmental footprint, the focus has predominantly been on operational emissions and power consumption. Yet, a critical aspect often overlooked is the carbon footprint associated with the concrete used in data centre construction. An open letter from hyperscale technology giants such as AWS, Google, Meta, and Microsoft highlights that materials commonly employed in data centre construction are accountable for 23% of global carbon emissions, with concrete alone contributing a notable 11%.

Frant Quasha, CEO of Eco Material Technologies, emphasizes the scale of concrete usage in construction as “massive.” Eco Material Technologies is striving to mitigate the concrete conundrum directly by repurposing waste materials, particularly fly ash sourced from the power sector, to substitute for the highly polluting cement in concrete mixtures.

For data centre operators facing increasing pressure to meet sustainability targets, the emissions linked to concrete present considerable challenges. Quasha outlines two major emissions issues for the industry. The first, widely recognised, pertains to power consumption. The second, often overlooked, is the embedded emissions stemming from construction, with concrete identified as the primary source.

The response from leading technology firms has been unexpectedly thorough and proactive. Companies like Meta have established teams dedicated to experimenting with various advanced materials, crafting distinct recipes to identify the optimal mix design for constructing their data centres.

This heightened engagement from some of the largest players in data centre development signifies a pivotal shift within the sector, where developers and contractors have historically paid scant attention to the environmental implications of their concrete specifications.

The future of green concrete is a pressing consideration for the data centre industry, as it grapples with the challenge of maintaining reduced carbon emissions. One promising approach to achieving green concrete involves carbon capture, utilization, and storage.

Through carbon capture, industrial gas companies can extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is then integrated into the concrete production process. When the recycled carbon dioxide is introduced, it undergoes a mineralization process that chemically transforms it into calcium carbonate, effectively sequestering it within the concrete. This mineralization enhances the material’s compressive strength, enabling companies to use less cement in the mix while still fulfilling strength requirements.

Currently, carbon utilisation technologies have not yet been validated on a large scale, indicating they are not an immediate remedy for the data centre industry’s urgent need for decarbonised concrete. Nevertheless, there lies a promising opportunity that commercially viable carbon capture technologies may emerge within the next 10-20 years, potentially allowing the data centre sector to further enhance the sustainability of its facilities.