An electricity shortage in the energy crisis could have a negative impact on the operation of data centres and become a risk factor for user companies. Companies fear serious consequences for their business and call on the German federal government to include data centres in emergency plans.

Opencast lignite mining for power generation shaped the Rhenish region in the west of Germany for many decades. With the energy transition, the region is facing an economic structural change. But how can the former coal-mining region be transformed into an “Innovation Valley Rhineland”? Around 70 experts from the digital industry discussed this in Bedburg in October.

eco, bitkom and the German Datacenter Association (GDA) have published a joint position paper for a sustainable German data centre industry by 2030. In the course of an impending energy crisis, the three associations call for data centres to be recognised as system-relevant IT infrastructures, regardless of their size, and to be prioritised accordingly in the event of supply shortages.

eco has just launched a campaign website under the motto of “JOINTHESOLUTION: We are part of the solution – the Internet industry”. The campaign focuses on digital technologies and services that provide solutions to burning societal issues.