Have you ever considered the environmental impact when you do a search on the Internet or simply watch a video? With the global data volume growing exponentially, there is a need to foster climate neutral infrastructures for eco-friendly efficient cloud services, to assure that Europe will be the epicentre of green technology. During this event, high-level speakers will present emerging trends in energy and resource efficiency in data centres, discussing industry adopted techniques, sharing best practice and other relevant issues that need our immediate attention in this context.

Join the CONNECT University Summer School Session and find out more about the way a data centre can become climate neutral, highly energy efficient and sustainable by 2030.

Background information

This event is part of the CONNECT University Summer School 2021 on Digital for our Planet that aims to present cutting-edge innovations addressing how can digital technologies be harnessed to tackle climate change, both in terms of a greener digital system, as well as their role in helping reducing carbon emissions across industries. Check this blogpost for the full programme and more information. 

Speakers

Moderator: Manuel Mateo Goyet, Deputy Head of Unit Cloud and Software, DG CONNECT, European Commission

• Pearse O'Donohue, Director Future Networks, DG Connect, European Commission

Pearse O'Donohue is Director for the Future Networks Directorate of DG CONNECT, European Commission, dealing with policy development and research as regards 5G networks, IoT, cloud and data flows, service platforms and next generation Internet

• Simon Hinterholzer, Researcher at the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability

Title of the presentation: Data centre energy consumption in the European Union - the status quo and a glimpse into the future.

Simon Hinterholzer is a researcher at the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability. He studied the bachelor's and master's degree program Renewable Energies at HTW Berlin. At the Borderstep Institute, he has been researching the climate and environmental impacts of digital technologies, especially data centers, for several years. He is co-author of the recently published study on “Energy-efficient Cloud Computing Technologies and Policies for an Eco-friendly Cloud Market” (LINK).

• Emma Fryer, Associate Director Data Centres, techUK

Title of the presentation: Energy Consumption of Data Centres: Fact and Fiction

Emma leads the data centre programme for technology sector trade body techUK, representing the interests of operators to Government and other stakeholders. She influences policy, mitigates compliance burdens, alerts the sector to risks and manages specialist groups, including the UK Council of Data Centre Operators. She negotiated a Climate Change Agreement for the sector in 2014, worth over £200M to UK operators and continues to lobby hard on behalf of the industry on issues ranging from energy costs to regulatory compliance. In 2020 she negotiated key worker status, protection for construction sites and quarantine exemption for data centre staff and contractors during COVID-19 and continues to work closely with UK government on sector resilience.   She produces reports, policy responses, white papers, briefings and infographics on topics from generator emissions to Brexit. 

Emma’s key priorities include sustainability and recent outputs include a Sector Energy Routemap, a discussion paper on the challenges of attributing carbon to cloud services, and a sector market overview. She has recently been appointed to the Board of the Carbon Neutral Data Centre Pact. Emma is a recipient of three prestigious awards, is a regular speaker at industry events and sits on two judging panels.

• Yann Lechelle, CEO, Scaleway

Title of the presentation: Scaleway, the cloud that makes sense

Yann Lechelle, CEO of Scaleway, is shaping what is the leading cloud alternative provider with unique European attributes and values. Previously, he has founded, grown and exited a total of five tech startups, many specialised in developing alternatives to the world’s largest tech giants. More recently, as COO, he grew Snips.ai, a leading voice and AI deeptech startup from seed to exit in a trade sale to Nasdaq-listed Sonos. Yann is also a founding member of France Digitale, HUB France AI (as well as board member), and GAIA-X. He gives back to the community as an angel investor, founder mentor and Entrepreneur in residence at INSEAD.