Paper Presented by Danfoss

Abstract

In the current era of deep integration between artificial intelligence and the digital economy, computing infrastructure has become a foundational pillar supporting global industrial innovation and societal digital transformation. As the core carriers of computing power, data centers are evolving from traditional facilities focused on computation and data storage for legacy IT systems into new infrastructure that delivers both digital enablement and green transformation.

The expansion of digital technologies and AI applications is driving exponential growth in computing demand, while simultaneously raising global concerns regarding data centers’ energy and water consumption, as well as carbon emissions.Balancing the stable supply of computing power with the mitigation of environmental and resource pressures has therefore become a critical challenge shared by industries worldwide.

Drawing on specialized research from authoritative organizations such as the International Energy Agency (IEA), as well as global best-practice case studies, this report explores pathways and practical strategies for the green and low-carbon transformation of data centers in the computing era, helping the industry achieve a sustainable balance between scalable computing capacity and low-carbondevelopment goals.

The large-scale deployment of intelligent computing power underpinning artificial intelligence is the primary driver of rapidly increasing energy consumption in datacenters. The energy demand of AI large models is far higher than that of traditional digital applications. With the expansion of multimodal AI scenarios, the pace of computing demand growth now far outstrips the evolution cycle of conventional semiconductor technologies.

According to a 2025 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of global data center electricity consumption in total final energy use is projected to double from 1.5% in 2024 to nearly 3% by 2030. This growth is accompanied by corresponding increases in water consumption and carbon emissions, posing significant challenges to industry.

In response to the tension between surging computing demand and resource constraints, the United States, China, and the European Union, which collectively account for 85% of the global data center market, have implemented distinctpolicy frameworks to guide and incentivize sustainable development.

Industry experience further demonstrates that data centers are not merely energy- consuming facilities. They serve as the core computing foundation for high-qualitydigital economic development and are an increasingly important participant in the low-carbon transformation of the energy system. As low-carbon computing becomes more widely deployed, data centers will play a critical role in enabling the coordinated digitalization and decarbonization of traditional industries.

As critical infrastructure for a modern industrial system, data centers can achieve substantial improvements in operational efficiency by establishing a full-chain low-carbon technology system and deeply integrating with the energy system. Moreover,they can be transformed into high-quality flexibility resources for emerging power systems.

First, Reduce – Minimizing Energy at the Source

The core of reduction lies in improving the energy efficiency of computing equipment. Generational upgrades of AI chips provide the foundational support for decoupling the growth of computing capacity from the rise in energy consumption.In parallel, the large-scale deployment of advanced cooling technologies, such as liquid cooling, offers mature solutions for enhancing energy efficiency in high-density intelligent computing centers.

Second, Reuse – Recovery and Utilization of Waste Heat

Data centers generate substantial amounts of low-grade waste heat during operation.By employing heat pump technologies to upgrade this heat and integrating it into district heating systems, energy can be utilized in cascaded stages. Multiple projects in Nordic countries and China have demonstrated the dual economic and environmental benefits of this approach.

Third, Resource – Leveraging Energy and Carbon Value

Value reconstruction can be achieved through deep integration of data centers with renewable energy systems. By deploying an integrated layout of generation-grid-storage-load, and through market-based renewable electricity transactions, data centers can enhance local renewable energy absorption. Their temporal and spatialload flexibility, combined with cross-regional computing dispatch and demand response participation, enables data centers to evolve from mere energy consumers into low-carbon heat providers and critical enablers of renewable energy integrationand new power system development.

Looking ahead, the green and low-carbon development of data centers requires not only continuous technological innovation to secure a baseline of energy efficiency,but also a systems-thinking approach to integrate and coordinate computing,thermal, and electrical resources. This holistic approach ensures that the growth of the digital economy is compatible with low-carbon transformation, positioning data centers as a key driver of societal green transition.

Download the full report：Green and Low-Carbon Data Center A new lever of flexibility, integration, and security