The Centre for Energy Innovation of the University of Twente is setting up a 10-year research programme to develop the datacentre of the future. More than 100 UT scientists are involved in the Low-energy Datacenters programme. Together with partners from the sector, including engineering firm Deerns and network administrator Alliander, the scientists are aiming to greatly reduce the energy consumption of datacentres. The initiative fits in with the European Union’s ambition to move towards climate-neutral datacentres, in line with the European Green Deal.
Energy consumption
There has been strong growth in the use of datacentres over the last few years, for example due to an increase in video streaming services, working from home and the rise of smart devices. The Netherlands occupies a leading position in global infrastructure: many datacentres are now based in our country. These datacentres make a significant contribution to our economy. However, the energy consumption of this industry is high: about 1% of electricity generated worldwide is now used by datacentres. Despite the fact the sector itself is heavily geared towards energy-saving measures, it is expected that datacentres will use as much as 8% of generated electricity by 2030. New and fundamentally different solutions are required to further reduce energy consumption - and even to move towards energy-neutral datacentres in the long term.
Unique expertise
The University of Twente is in a unique position to tackle this challenge. The university posesses expertise in a broad spectrum of technological solutions. For example, UT scientists are working on AI for smarter - and therefore more energy efficient - utilisation of datacentre computing power and system cooling. Researchers also develop smart materials for better heat management and more efficient data storage. The university is also working on photonic chips that do not produce any heat and use less energy as a result. What’s more, researchers are working on ‘neuromorphic computing’, based on neural structures in the brain, meaning that some tasks can be executed much more efficiently than they are at present.
Partners
In addition to the in-house expertise, the UT is part of a strong and growing network of partners from the public sector and industry. The Low-energy datacentre programme, for example, is itself part of LEAP (Lower Energy Acceleration Program) by the Amsterdam Economic Board. As well as several large, industrial partners such as Deerns and Alliander, the UT also collaborates with various own spin-offs and other knowledge centres. Within the University of Twente, the programme is part of the Centre for Energy Innovation (CEI), supporting successful energy transition through research and education.
