Demand for digital services is increasing, as are the computing needs associated with artificial intelligence. Energy efficiency is becoming a major industrial, economic and environmental issue.

Every watt counts

Electricity powers servers, storage, networks and cooling. A modest improvement at chip level can have a significant effect when repeated across thousands of machines.

Operators therefore monitor both computing performance and the energy required to deliver it.

According to the International Energy Agency, data centre electricity demand rose by 17% in 2025, compared with roughly 3% for global demand. This does not mean every facility used more power: it measures growth across the sector.

Cooling differently

Air cooling remains common, but liquid systems bring cooling closer to the hottest components. Their adoption depends on the type of server, its density and the building’s infrastructure.

Recovered heat can also supply nearby uses when temperature, distance and local demand make this possible.

Optimising computation

More efficient models, specialised chips and better scheduling reduce unnecessary computation. Choosing the right tool for each workload is often more effective than simply increasing power.

Transparency about measurements will remain essential to compare genuine progress and avoid promises that are difficult to verify.