Despite appearing like a harmless activity, surfing the internet is a significant source of carbon emissions. After three years of research and innovation, DataQube has found a way to halve these emissions with its scalable data centres.
Every time you watch a new series on Netflix, send a GIF to a friend or join a Zoom Meeting, you consume electricity and contribute to further carbon emissions.
While negligible on an individual level, on aggregate, ICT services account for 8% of global electricity usage or around 2% of yearly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is as much as the entire airline industry.
With ICT services and associated GHG emissions only expected to rise – projections suggest they will account for 21-51% of global electricity consumption by 2030 – getting companies and municipalities to find less carbon-intensive solutions is critical.
“If you want to have a significant impact and if you want to change the industry you have to use two leverage points: the power consumption of data centres and the transportation of data,” says Philippe Rechsteiner, CFO of DataQube.
Currently, data centres, called hyperscalers, are very large, energy-intensive, centralised and they take a long time to build. Because they are so far away from the end-user, data needs to be transported over long distances, a process which represents a third of the electricity consumed by the internet.
“DataQube has manufactured smaller data centres which can be built closer to the end-user, thereby dramatically reducing the transmission costs and emissions. By developing a modular solution that can be customised in shape and size and deployed both inside and outside, DataQube’s data centres can be retrofitted to existing buildings,” adds Philippe.
“With 5G you can simultaneously connect up to 1 million devices per square kilometre.”
Philippe Rechsteiner
Less Is More
DataQubes’ modular edge data centres do not only achieve around 56% emissions reductions per year compared to regular data centres, they also significantly reduce operating costs and rollout times. Whereas operating costs are reduced by around 50%, rollout times are decreased from 18-24 months to 6 months.
Add to that their immersive cooling technologies which cool by the racks and increase energy efficiencies and their 5G capabilities and you quickly understand how they managed to raise €26 million earlier this year.
Machine To Machine
By 2050, 70% of people are expected to live in cities. Coordinating the masses will become critical for governments and municipalities and 5G will play a key role in this. Equipped with 5G antennae, DataQubes’ edge data centres will facilitate machine to machine communication and facilitate the delivery of live solutions.
“With 5G you can simultaneously connect up to 1 million devices per square kilometre. This means that for cities DataQubes will become essential because if you have the IT capacity with our modules, plus a 5G network, you can save a lot of time, a lot of investment and connect as many devices as you want,” concludes Philippe.
Already working with four major cities and having launched the production of modules, DataQube is well on its way to putting its name on the map. Their objective is to get €10 million of revenue for their first year of activity and start addressing the US market.
Editor’s note: This article is brought to your by DataQube and reflects only the opinion of the author.
This article was first published in the Silicon Luxembourg magazine. Read the full digital version of the magazine on our website, here. You can also choose to receive a hard copy at the office or at home. Subscribe now.
