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Data centers, often criticized for his or her high energy requirements, could grow to be a very important source of heating for cities if situated accurately, in response to the boss of one in all Europe's leading energy transition firms.
Kim Fausing, chief executive of Danfoss, a Danish private company that gives heat pumps and cooling systems for data centers, said that by the top of this decade Frankfurt could meet all of its heating needs with excess heat generated by data centers.
“There is plenty of controversy, especially in regards to the sheer amount of energy that data centers will need,” the Danfoss boss told the Financial Times. “But they might help us solve heating problems in certain cities if placed accurately.”
Fausing spoke ahead of an energy summit opened by the Danish king on Monday. It includes representatives from leading Nordic firms and global competitors resembling Google, EDF and Siemens.
Business leaders wanted to point out that decarbonization might be a source of growth for Europe, consistent with the findings of a report by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that’s currently being discussed by the European Commission, Fausing said.
Demand for data centers has been given a brand new boost by the rapid spread of artificial intelligence, but their use of huge amounts of electricity is controversial.
The data center market is anticipated to grow from $220 billion at the top of 2022 to $418 billion by the top of this decade, in response to market research firm Industry ARC.
Frankfurt has greater than 60 data centers and one in all the biggest web exchanges on the planet. Experts have calculated Its proximity to homes and offices meant excess heat from town's data centers could provide all of them with green heat by 2030.
This is in contrast to the Nordic region, where data centers are inclined to be situated in additional distant areas near power sources or cold water.
European industrialists are increasingly concerned in regards to the pace of the region's green transition after sales of electrical cars and warmth pumps fell and investors canceled several hydrogen and green fuel projects.
The near-collapse of Swedish battery maker Northvolt has once more highlighted the fragility of Europe's efforts to develop its own green industries within the face of tough competition from China.
“There is a risk that Europe is waiting on the platform” due to a scarcity of clear and long-term regulation that would help firms speed up investments in green technologies, Fausing said.
The region needed to hurry up and simplify its green transition subsidies to enable firms to compete with their rivals in China and the US that profit from government support.
“European plans are more complicated. . . Europe is pretty good at analyzing and talking, but much less good at actually taking motion,” he said.
