Putting data centers in space could reduce their carbon footprint, European study finds

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on WSJ PRO or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Thales Alenia Space's feasibility study suggests deploying data centers into space could be a sustainable and economically viable solution for data hosting and processing

🔭 The context: Data centers, essential for AI and computing power, consume significant energy and water
• The European study, funded by the EU, compared the environmental impacts of space-based versus Earth-based data centers

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Space data centers, powered by solar energy outside Earth's atmosphere, align with the EU's carbon neutrality goals by 2050 and could reduce the carbon footprint of digital infrastructure

⏭️ What's next: Thales Alenia Space plans to further consolidate and optimize the study's results, exploring the development of less emissive launchers for space data centers

💬 One quote: "Deploying data centers in space could transform the European digital landscape, offering a more eco-friendly and sovereign solution," said Thales Alenia CTO Christophe Valorge

📈 One stat: Data centers and transmission networks accounted for about 0.9% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, per the International Energy Agency

Click for more news covering the latest on environmental sustainability