Data Centre Competence Group
In 2024, the experts from the Data Centre Competence Group were once again actively involved in various formats such as meetings, workshops and panel discussions. The focus of their work was on topics from the fields of energy efficiency, waste heat utilisation and the circular economy. These activities were supplemented by four-stop roadshow events held in Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
The first event took place on 20 February 2024 with a virtual exchange of current reporting obligations for data centre operators, in which 60 experts from the Competence Group took part. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Béla Waldhauser. Discussions included reporting requirements and deadlines for the Energy Efficiency Register and the Platform for Waste Heat (PfA).
On 5 March 2024, the Competence Group, led by Dr. Béla Waldhauser, welcomed 58 guests to an in-person meeting at the Centre for Energy Technology (ZET) at the University of Bayreuth. Topics included current and future energy storage technologies relevant to the data centre industry. Following the technical presentations and interactive workshops, participants had the opportunity to tour the University of Bayreuth’s liquid ice storage facility, which can convert thermal energy using combined heat, power and cooling.
On 12 March 2024, nearly 60 attendees of the Competence Group discussed their practical experiences with the German Energy Efficiency Act. The topics of the virtual exchange revolved around rated connection capacities, access to the Platform for Waste Heat, and the definition of measuring points for determining electricity consumption.
Members of the Competence Group also participated in a virtual meeting organised by the German Federal Environment Agency on the following day, 13 March 2024, to learn about the status of the PeerDC project. Dr. Béla Waldhauser represented the association at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWK) stakeholder event “Launch of the Data Centre Register (RZReg) – Registration and Next Steps” on 19 March.
On 9 April 2024, eco member company Robert C. Spies hosted a roundtable discussion on “Data Centres and Their Relevance for Sustainable Digitalisation” at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin. Moderated by Roland Broch from eco Association, the panel – including Dr. Béla Waldhauser, Dr. Severin Fischer (Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises) and other experts – discussed market potentials through the transformation of digital infrastructure and their realisation.
What factors are currently driving data centre growth in the Rhine-Main region, and what conclusions can be drawn for other regions? Three member companies (Green Mountain, Telehouse, Maincubes) from the region were able to discuss these and other questions with participants on 14 May 2024 as part of a delegation trip organised by the “Rhein-Erft Economic Development Council”.
As part of Data Centre World at Messe Frankfurt on 22–23 May 2024, representatives of the Competence Group discussed current reporting requirements for data centre operators and the status of data centre developments in the Rhineland region.
On 4 June 2024, the eco Data Centre Expert Summit took place for the fourth time in a row – this time hosted at the Energy Supply Offenbach (EVO) site. The topics of the congress revolved around resilient infrastructures, energy storage, ESG & CSR reporting, and the opportunities and challenges of greenfield and brownfield development of data centres.
On 10 June 2024, Lukas Steiner and Dr. Béla Waldhauser represented the association at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWK) stakeholder event on “Decarbonisation of Heating Networks and Waste Heat from Data Centres”. A follow-up event on 11 July 2024 addressed the de minimis thresholds introduced in the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG). A third BMWK workshop on 18 October 2024 dealt with “Future of Germany as a Data Center Location”.
On 11 July 2024, the Competence Group organised a virtual exchange on “Sustainability Requirements – Status Quo and Best Practices”, which was attended by 82 members. The discussion focused on topics such as the impact of the Corporate Sustainability Directive (CSRD) on the data centre industry.
How can sustainable and simultaneously secure data centre operations be realised for HPC and scientific computing? These and other questions were the focus of an in-person meeting on 29 October 2024 at the Society for Scientific Data Processing in Göttingen (GWDG). In a World Café format, the 76 participants discussed topics in several groups, such as bandwidth privileges, electricity market design and thermal energy storage systems.
What are the current trends and developments in the field of physical security for data centres? Forty participants met on 5 November 2024 at Fogtec Brandschutz GmbH in Cologne to discuss topics related to access control, fire protection, emergency power supply, and monitoring and surveillance tools as part of a Competence Group meeting.
In addition to the Competence Group meetings in-person and virtually, four roadshow events were offered in 2024, where interested guests could learn about the latest trends in the data centre industry during evening get-togethers. The show stops were Stuttgart (22 February 2024), Berlin (15 October 2024), Hamburg (14 November 2024) and Munich (21 November 2024).
