Europe wants to deploy data centers into space, study says

The rise of artificial intelligence has skyrocketed requests for data centers to keep pace with the growing tech sector – and forcing Europe to explore space options for digital storage, in a bid to reduce the need for energy-hungry facilities in the ground.

Europe is exploring options for space-based data centers in a bid to reduce the need for energy-hungry facilities on the ground, as the rise of artificial intelligence skyrockets demand for digital storage.

The Advanced Space Cloud for Europe’s Net zero emissions and Data sovereignty, a 16-month long study exploring the possibility of launching a data center into orbit, has reached “very encouraging” conclusions, according to Damien Dumestier, project manager.

The 2 million euro ($2.1 million) ASCEND study, coordinated by Thales Alenia Space on behalf of the European Commission, states that space-based data centers are technically, economically and environmentally feasible.

“The idea (is) to take part of the energy demand for the data center and send it to the place to benefit from the unlimited energy, which is solar energy,” Dumestier told CNBC.

Data centers are important to keep pace with digitization, but they also require a lot of electricity and water to power and cool servers. Total global electricity consumption from data centers could reach more than 1,000 terawatt-hours by 2026 – which is roughly the same as Japan’s electricity consumption, according to the International Energy Agency.

The industry will be hit by a “tsunami wave of data,” said Merima Dzanic, head of strategy and operations at the Danish Data Center Industry Association.

“AI data centers need three times more energy than traditional data centers and this is a problem not only on the energy side, but also on the consumption side,” he told CNBC.

“A different approach to how to build, design and operate a data center,” is needed, Dzanic added.

The facility being launched into space will orbit at an altitude of about 1,400 kilometers (869.9 miles) – about three times the altitude of the International Space Station. Dumestier explained that ASCEND will aim to deploy 13 building blocks of space data centers with a total capacity of 10 megawatts by 2036, in order to achieve the starting point of the commercialization of cloud services.

Each building block – with a surface area of ​​6,300 square meters – includes the capacity to service its own data center and is launched in one space vehicle, he said.

To have a significant impact on the energy consumption of the digital sector, the goal is to deploy 1,300 building blocks by 2050 to achieve 1 gigawatt., according to Dumestier.

The aim of ASCEND is to explore the potential and comparative environmental impact of space-based data center to help Europe in become carbon neutral by 2050.

The study found that, in order to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, a new type of launcher with 10 times less emissions must be developed. ArianeGroup, one of the 12 companies involved in the study, is working to accelerate the development of reusable and environmentally friendly launchers.

The target is to have the first eco-launcher ready by 2035 and allow a 15-year deployment to have the large capacity needed to make the project possible, Dumestier said.

But Dzanic warns that the rather “fringe” idea of ​​a space-based data center does not solve the problem of sustainable energy use. “It’s just one part of the puzzle,” she said.

Michael Winterson, managing director of the European Data Center Association, acknowledged that space data centers would benefit from the efficiency of solar power without the disruption of weather patterns – but that the centers would require large amounts of rocket fuel to stay in orbit.

Winterson estimates that even a small 1-megawatt center in low-Earth orbit would require about 280,000 pounds of rocket fuel per year at a cost of about $140 million in 2030 — a calculation based on a significant drop in launch costs, which has yet to materialize. .

“There are specialist services that will fit this idea, but they won’t be a market replacement,” Winterson said.

“The applications it might serve will be very specific, such as military/surveillance, broadcasting, telecommunications and financial trading services.

Dzanic also signaled some skepticism about security risks, he noted, “Space is increasingly politicized and used between different countries. So clearly, there are security implications about the type of data being sent out there.”

ASCEND is not the only study looking at the potential of orbital data centers. Microsoft, which has previously attempted to use a subsea data center positioned 117 feet deep on the ocean floor, is partnering with companies such as Loft Orbital to explore the challenges of running AI and computing in space. The work is critical to innovation and “lays the foundation for future data management solutions,” a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC.

ASCEND is one way the EU is seeking to gain a competitive advantage in the AI ​​ecosystem, where the bloc currently lags behind the US and China, Dzanic said.

The EU is only now “starting to wake up and smell the coffee and step in by financing the project,” he added.

ASCEND researchers are in talks with the International Space Agency for the next phase which involves combining all the data collected and working on the development of a heavy lift launcher.

“We want to guarantee data sovereignty for Europe, but projects like this can benefit other countries,” Dumestier said. “We are pushing a lot because we can say that it is a promising project. It can be a flagship for the development of the European space.”