In May 2024, the UK entered the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) program which brings together supercomputing resources from across 35 countries, including Norway, Turkey and all 27 European Union (EU) member states.
By joining the prestigious program, the UK aims to bolster its scientific and technological leadership, foster international +, and leverage HPC to drive innovation and economic growth – all of which are extremely positive ambitions for the British IT industry. However, membership of the EuroHPC will also accelerate demand for energy in the UK, and this could even advance beyond the nation’s current capabilities. Especially given that the UK has yet to contend with the formidable energy demand surge created by increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The Chief Executive Officer of the UK’s National Grid, John Pettigrew, commented that AI will consume 500% more power in the UK during the next decade. This is not just a problem for the UK, but this electrical surge is quickly becoming a global issue. Data centers worldwide consumed 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2022, almost two percentage points of total global electricity demand. With the added power demand for AI, electricity consumption from data centers in the EU in 2026 is predicted to be 30 percent higher than 2023.
According to recent research by Goldman Sachs, AI is set to increase data center power demand by 160% by the end of the decade. This is not unexpected given that Google’s emissions have nearly doubled in the past five years alone thanks to AI. These shocking figures pose questions about the possibility of net-zero emissions by the end of the decade.
The key question remains, how can we sustainably meet this level of demand?
The biggest trends of our time
AI and climate change are two of the most significant and impactful stories of our time, each shaping various aspects of society, the economy, and the environment in profound ways. They are far from being mutually exclusive. AI will doubtless play a role in tackling the challenges of climate change. Yet the power demands of data centers will put pressure on net zero goals.
Equivalent to the need for electricity, the UK also requires access to GPUs as it pushes to become an HPC and AI leader. But innovation must be sustainable to ensure that energy-intensive processes can be carried out with minimal environmental impact, and at no threat to the UK’s energy security.
100% sustainable data centers
The only viable solution is to harness renewable energy to power data centers.
Energy efficient strategies at AI data centers must also be prioritized to enable the UK to keep up without having to pull the plug due to power demand. Sourcing renewable energy to power data centers presents several challenges, primarily revolving around the need for consistent and reliable power supply, high initial investment costs, and the integration of renewable sources into existing infrastructure.
Some renewables like solar and wind are inherently intermittent, necessitating the development of efficient energy storage solutions and grid enhancements to ensure a steady power supply. NexGen Cloud hosts its AI Supercloud in a data center just outside of Oslo, which uses hydroelectric energy to power and cool its infrastructure. Hydroelectric energy is non-intermittent so allows the data center to be powered by around-the-clock clean energy.
Investment and sovereign clouds
Market forces alone are not enough to get us there, direct investment into GPU chips by the UK Government is also key to advancing the nation’s HPC and AI industries.
Government investment in GPU infrastructure is vital, as the current funding significantly lags behind other global players. The UK’s investment in Nvidia GPU chips is dwarfed by the orders from tech giants like Elon Musk’s X and China. According to Pitchbook, $122 billion has been invested in generative AI businesses in the US, while European generative AI businesses have received a comparatively modest $3.8 billion. Disparities like these hamper the UK’s ability to compete in the HPC and AI sectors, necessitating a robust governmental push to scale up GPU availability and infrastructure investment to match international standards.
Additionally, adopting sovereign cloud solutions can help UK businesses access high-powered GPUs while ensuring compliance with data protection laws, thereby enhancing the UK's competitiveness in the global AI market.
Cloud infrastructure is available today to ensure that AI operations can remain compliant with European data sovereignty and privacy regulations by keeping them within the European jurisdiction. By powering our data centers with 100% renewable energy, the UK and EU can significantly mitigate the environmental impact associated with High Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence, thus enabling innovation to continue without jeopardizing the possibility of net-zero by 2030.
Fundamentally, this can provide both the blueprint for how the UK can sustainably support HPC and AI, and become a true global leader in these sectors.
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