From storing photos on our smartphones to audio and video streaming platforms, not to mention email and social media, data centers are becoming increasingly indispensable for our personal use every day. The same is true for business applications used by companies, manufacturers, and public services. The development of new technologies and smart solutions creates additional demands for data collection, storage, and processing. And the widespread adoption of 4G and 5G—which enables access to large volumes of data at high speeds—is reinforcing this trend.

For the past decade or so, major data hosting providers have been building data centers spanning several thousand square meters with significant power requirements. Some cities, such as Dublin, are nearing the saturation point of their electrical grids due to the high energy consumption of these facilities. The transition toward mobility and the rise of electric vehicles are exacerbating these risks of strain on the availability of urban grids, as is the gradual commissioning of gigafactories, which also require significant energy supplies. 

To mitigate this threat of saturation, data centers must undergo a transformation to improve their performance. Small, local facilities are set to expand. Regions located near intercontinental broadband access points—such as Bordeaux, Marseille, or Lisbon—are strategically important. The technical challenge is to reduce latency. Insufficient data transmission speeds can have dramatic consequences, such as during a remote surgical procedure.