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2026-07-31 02:38 UTC → 2026-07-31 09:21 UTC ·
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Data center centre sustainability & storage amid AI growth surge
In early July 2026, the The European Union announced a Union’s mid‑2026 proposal to make require sustainability labels mandatory for data centres, aiming centres marked the first coordinated effort to limit curb the energy impact of expanding artificial‑intelligence workloads. A few weeks later, attention turned to In the Asia‑Pacific region, where rapid AI adoption was driving weeks that followed, analysts highlighted a surge rapid rise in data‑centre capacity. Analysts noted that AI‑optimised servers across the Asia‑Pacific, projecting they could account for consume roughly a third of data‑centre electricity use by 2026 and soon overtake traditional servers the following year, servers, while most current AI loads still represent only a modest share of total power consumption. The bulk of demand remains tied to still stems from conventional IT applications in sectors such as finance, manufacturing and health care. To address the looming energy crunch, operators applications. Operators in Taiwan and elsewhere are pursuing a mix of have responded with efficiency measures—modernising programmes—modernising storage, retiring legacy systems, equipment, deploying high‑efficiency servers, servers and tightening power‑usage‑effectiveness targets—while also exploring emerging technologies like targets. Parallel investments in ultra‑low‑power networking, long‑life glass media, media and even experimental orbital data‑centre concepts backed by major tech firms. Investment forecasts point to an underline the scale of the challenge, with APAC infrastructure spending forecast at about $800 billion outlay through 2030. A new pressure point emerged in APAC late July as AI‑driven workloads pushed data‑centre infrastructure through 2030, underscoring power demand up 70 % year‑over‑year, outpacing overall growth. Legacy UPS systems, based on lead‑acid and lithium‑ion batteries, are strained by intense cycling. Silicon‑anode batteries—offering ten‑times the scale ion storage of conventional cells—are being examined as a remedy, promising higher energy density within the sustainability challenge same footprint and the drive for innovative solutions. ability to shave peak‑grid imports. Policymakers in the US and Taiwan are being urged to devise frameworks that align AI expansion with clean‑energy and storage strategies, aiming to prevent the surge from compromising climate targets.