Béla Waldhauser, Spokesperson of the eco-founded Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, and CEO of Telehouse Deutschland, is a speaker at this year’s eco Data Center Expert Summit and a juror for the Data Center Award, which honours particularly innovative data centre projects. In this interview, he discusses current trends in the field of sustainability, regulatory challenges and the prerequisites for a green IT infrastructure.
What current trends and innovations do you see in the field of sustainable IT infrastructures?
Data centre operators have made significant progress in energy efficiency in recent years, particularly in cooling. Air-cooled servers are now very efficient, but to reach the next level, liquid cooling is becoming increasingly important. At the same time, the use of waste heat is also picking up speed: When I started pushing this topic five years ago, I was almost the only one in Germany promoting this topic. Today, there are many exciting projects that show how data centres can actively contribute to the energy transition. Another critical point is the power supply: almost all major operators now rely on renewable energies and play a leading role in Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with solar and wind farms. In this regard, the industry is not only making its own sustainable practices more robust, but also supports the expansion of green energy sources.
What role do data centres play in the implementation of Green IT?
Data centres are not part of the problem, but part of the solution. Without a powerful and efficient data centre infrastructure, there will be no Green IT. However, we must continue focusing on IT hardware and software, as these are currently responsible for around 75% of the power consumption in modern data centres.
How does Germany perform internationally in terms of sustainable data centres?
Germany is already very good when it comes to the sustainability of our data centres. This is due in no small part to the very high electricity prices in Germany. However, we should not labour under the illusion that we have a unique position in Germany. All major data centre operators operate globally and rely on standardised construction methods and technologies worldwide. There is no unique German solution.
What regulatory challenges do data centre operators currently face in Germany that hinder the sustainable transformation in the industry?
On the one hand, there are the eternally long approval procedures for new, efficient data centres. On average, it takes about a year to obtain a building permit – and the same applies to modernisation measures. And the issue of the South-Link is also well known: For over 10 years, we have not been able to bring the power from the wind farms in the North Sea to the south on a large scale.
What best practices can companies adopt to make their IT more sustainable? What role does Green Coding play in all of this?
Let’s start with the proper sizing of data centres. The eco Association recently published a white paper on this topic that provides valuable information. Of course, forward planning for waste heat utilisation is essential. An example of this is the cooperation between Mainova and Telehouse for the heat supply of the Franky residential area in Frankfurt. And, of course, Green Coding is an essential part of sustainable data centres, because around 75% of the energy in a data centre is consumed by IT.
What course-setting measures are now needed to be made to establish sustainable IT infrastructures in the long term?
Politicians must significantly speed up the planning process – both for grid expansion, so that wind energy from the north reaches the south, and for the construction of modern, efficient data centres. Only in this way can old, inefficient systems be replaced or modernised more quickly. In terms of waste heat utilization, it is not enough to obligate data center operators to provide waste heat if, on the other side, the recipients or district heating operators are not on board. Furthermore, research into large storage media – for both electricity and heat – needs to be significantly increased in order to ensure a sustainable and stable energy supply.
What is your personal “green” vision for the future of the IT industry?
My personal vision of a green future for the IT industry is one in which all the data centres use only water-cooled servers. These servers are all virtualised and the software meets the latest Green Coding standards. In addition, the waste heat temperature is at least 50°C and is fully fed into modern low-temperature heating networks.
Thank you for the interview!
The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures is an association of leading companies in the industry. Founded in 2018 under the umbrella of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, the initiative aims to draw attention to the importance of digital infrastructures for Germany as a business location through dialogue with policymakers and the public.