Policy Voices | The challenges of AI data centres in Europe

As the uptake of Artificial Intelligence (AI) increases in many sectors of the economy, all of that infrastructure has to be supported somehow: that is where data centres come in. The most advanced economies are rushing to scale up their digital infrastructure, yet industry laggard Europe is also behind in this aspect, compared to places like the US and China. These massive facilities use great amounts of electricity, burdening local energy grids to already unsustainable levels in places like Dublin. That is not to speak of the water consumption needed to cool these facilities and the larger implications of the increased integration of AI into our daily lives. Host Sabina Șancu spoke to Thomas Spencer, senior energy analyst at the International Energy Agency, about the characteristics of energy consumption by AI data centres and what the future might have in store for them: more efficiency or a greater burden for our grids. Programme Executive Davide Sofia met with Denis "Jaromil" Roio in Piacenza, at the Festival del Pensare Contemporaneo. Jaromil, the founder of the Dyne.org foundation, spoke about the potential of AI, its effect on energy, and the immense care with which we need to treat it when it comes to our security in these unstable times. This episode is connected to our 2025 Climate and Energy summit, taking place in Brussels on the 23rd of September. The event will bring together speakers from the private and public sectors to explore how Europe can turn its green agenda into a powerful engine for investment, prosperity and shared decarbonisation pathways. If you want to comment on this episode you can send us an e-mail: [email protected]