To reduce the energy and environmental impact of data centers, installing data centers in space could be a viable alternative. That is the preliminary conclusion of European research in which the Flemish research institute VITO is collaborating. But there are drawbacks and more research is needed.
This is a feasibility study under the name ASCEND (Advanced Space Cloud for European Net zero mission and Data sovereignty). A consortium of European companies and research organizations led by France’s Thales Alenia Space is investigating whether it is possible to install data centers in orbit and thus contribute to the 2050 carbon neutrality goal under the European Green Deal, and thus whether it is worth further concretizing in future projects.
Data centers have big environmental impact
Indeed, data centers have a big impact. And they will only increase in number and capacity in the coming years. For example, the data center market is estimated at 23 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. ASCEND aims to install 1 gigawatt of data center capacity in orbit before 2050.
The purpose of the study was to examine what structure such a data center would best have in space to emit as little greenhouse gas as possible. Data centers on Earth are not only energy guzzlers. They are also responsible for huge CO2 emissions from processing and storing digital data.
A potentially big advantage of data centers in space is direct access to unlimited solar energy. Also, the fact that they do not need water for cooling in space is an important advantage in times of increasing drought.
Full life cycle
In the feasibility study, VITO was responsible for estimating the environmental impact of the architecture chosen for the space data center, and to find out whether it would be larger or smaller than a data center on Earth during its entire life cycle.
This includes taking into account the extraction of raw materials needed to build the data centers, energy consumption, land use and environmental issues other than just climate change.
‘Hopeful results,’ but also drawbacks
VITO speaks of hopeful results. “Based on initial calculations, we believe that ASCEND has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of data centers,” it reported Friday. “Starting from all the information we have received from the ASCEND project partners, we can conclude that the space variant can outperform a counterpart on Earth in many environmental areas.”
But there are not only advantages, also disadvantages. “For example, while a space data center may have lower CO2 emissions, it requires more critical raw materials for the space infrastructure components. Of course, this life cycle analysis was just an initial screening. If we really want to verify whether our assumptions are feasible, more research is needed.”
Space investment
Investment in the development of a more environmentally friendly and partially reusable high-capacity launcher is very important in this, says VITO. “That investment, although large, can be framed within the EU Green Deal.”
Thales Alenia Space and its partners now plan to continue the study to consolidate and optimize the results. “At the same time, a paradigm shift within the space sector is needed to achieve the goals of the project, using cutting-edge technologies,” it reads.
