2025 Global Data Center Market Comparison

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GLOBAL DATA CENTER MARKET COMPARISON

Water Availability

A stable and reliable water supply is essential for maintaining the continuous operation of data centers as it is primarily used in cooling systems due to its higher heat capacity compared to air. This enables water to absorb and dissipate more heat, which prevents overheating and ensures optimal performance. As server rack densities continue to rise alongside new requirements for cloud and AI deployments, cooling requirements are also growing. These changes are prompting data center operators to adapt to new cooling requirements. Direct-to-chip cooling is becoming more common; some operators are designing data centers with both liquid and air-cooling options, and others are exploring the efficacy of immersion cooling. Throughout 2024, hyperscalers have announced plans to reduce water usage to near-zero levels. New liquid cooling technologies aim to recycle water through a closed-loop system where evaporation does not occur. However, these systems are unlikely to be widely implemented in operational data centers before 2027.

Water availability is a key factor in data center site selection, often requiring an in depth water stress analysis to evaluate the local water supply. While water availability is the chief concern of these analyses, water infrastructure and local resiliency planning are included to determine the ability of a locality to handle water supply stress, such as drought. Not only does this underpin the importance of water to data center operations, it demonstrates data center operators’ commitment to sustainable water usage. Even as technology shifts rapidly, access to water remains a key consideration as density requirements continue to rise . Operators in desert regions or areas with water scarcity may face challenges in acquiring sufficient water rights for cooling hyperscale data centers.

LOW-WEIGHT

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD | DATA CENTER ADVISORY GROUP

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