EU dreams data centers that work “above clouds”

EU-funded project is set to change the course of digital storage by launching data centers into space, aiming to reduce Earth-bound energy consumption and enhance data sovereignty.

There’s a rapid increase in the need for data centers, leading EU to explore space-based storage solutions to reduce reliance on energy-intensive ground facilities.

EU-backed ASCEND says it’s feasible to send data centers to space

According to Damien Dumestier, manager of the project, the 16-month study titled Advanced Space Cloud for European Net Zero Emission and Data Sovereignty (ASCEND) has produced “very encouraging” results.

With a budget of 2 million euros ($2.1 million), the ASCEND study, coordinated by Thales Alenia Space on behalf of the European Commission, suggests that space-based data centers are technically, economically, and environmentally viable.

“The idea [is] to take off part of the energy demand for data centers and to send them in space in order to benefit from infinite energy, which is solar energy,” Dumestier stated, according to CNBC.

Data centers, critical for digital progression, consume substantial electricity and water to operate and cool their servers. The International Energy Agency forecasts that by 2026, data centers worldwide will use over 1,000 terawatt-hours of electricity, an amount on par with Japan’s annual consumption.

EU dreams data centers that work “above clouds” (Image credit)

“The industry is on the brink of a data tsunami,” remarked Merima Dzanic, the head of strategy and operations at the Danish Data Center Industry Association.

“AI data centers need something like three times more energy than a traditional data center and that is a problem not just on the energy side, but also the consumption side,” she explained to CNBC.

Dzanic calls for a radically new method to construct, design, and manage data centers.

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The facilities discussed in the study, intended to be launched into space, would orbit the Earth at about 1,400 kilometers (869.9 miles)—triple the altitude of the International Space Station. Dumestier outlined that the ASCEND project aims to install 13 data center units in orbit, each with 10 megawatts of capacity, by 2036 to start offering commercial cloud services.

He further detailed that each of these units, covering 6,300 square meters, would house its own data center services and be launched aboard a single spacecraft.

Dumestier also mentioned the long-term goal: by 2050, to deploy 1,300 of these units, thereby achieving a total capacity of 1 gigawatt to markedly cut down on the energy consumption of the digital sector.

Sustainable targets

ASCEND aimed to assess the viability and environmental benefits of space-based data centers to help Europe achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The study determined that to significantly cut CO2 emissions, a new type of launcher that emits ten times less would need to be developed. ArianeGroup, among the 12 companies involved in the study, is advancing the creation of such reusable and environmentally friendly launchers.

Dumestier mentioned the plan to have the first eco-friendly launcher operational by 2035, with a 15-year deployment period to build the capacity needed for the project’s success. However, Dzanic cautioned that the concept of space-based data centers, while innovative, does not completely address sustainable energy concerns. “It’s just one part of the puzzle,” she noted.

Michael Winterson, managing director of the European Data Centre Association, recognized the potential efficiency gains from uninterrupted solar power in space. However, he pointed out that maintaining a data center in orbit would consume substantial rocket fuel. He estimated that a modest 1 megawatt center in low earth orbit would require about 280,000 kilograms of rocket fuel annually by 2030, costing roughly $140 million—this estimate assumes a significant reduction in launch costs that has not yet occurred.

EU dreams data centers that work “above clouds” (Image credit)

Winterson remarked, “There will be specialist services that will be suited to this idea, but it will in no way be a market replacement.” He specified that certain applications, such as military/surveillance, broadcasting, telecommunications, and financial trading might benefit from space-based operations, while other services would not be competitively viable from space, as he added in his emailed comments.

Dzanic also expressed concerns about security risks, pointing out, “Space is being increasingly politicized and weaponized amongst different countries. So obviously, there are security implications on what type of data you send out there.”

“With the aim of reducing the digital carbon footprint, there is a project to position data centers in space, in order to have low-carbon solar electricity and to avoid the energy necessary for cooling (assured by the vacuum of space). However, all parameters must be taken into account to ensure that there is a benefit for the climate. The analysis that Carbone 4 carried out in response to the request from the European Commission made it possible to determine that this benefit would be subject to a real feat on the part of the European space sector, in particular to succeed in offering the lowest carbon launcher of the world.”

-ASCEND

Featured image credit: Kerem Gülen/Midjourney