From "Spa Data Center" to "Space Server": The Energy Crisis is Reshaping the Cloud Computing Industry

With the explosive growth of artificial intelligence workloads, traditional digital infrastructure is facing unprecedented challenges in energy and physical limits, forcing the industry to rethink the physical form of data centers. From utilizing server waste heat to power community spas, to launching computing nodes into Earth's orbit to harness all-weather solar energy, a radical architectural transformation aimed at addressing energy bottlenecks is unfolding in the cloud computing industry.

According to a report by CNBC on the 29th, Simone Larsson, head of Lenovo's enterprise AI division, warned that the industry is approaching a "critical point" where existing data center architectures will no longer be applicable. As more and more AI tasks flood into these energy-intensive facilities, the pressure on the power supply chain will increase dramatically, forcing tech giants and infrastructure developers to think outside the box and explore "plug-and-play" solutions that can alleviate grid pressure and meet sustainability goals.

This trend is giving rise to new investment tracks, extending from the transformation of ground infrastructure to the space sector. Research projects funded by the European Space Agency and the startup Starcloud, supported by NVIDIA, are accelerating the race for "orbital data centers," with Thales Alenia Space planning its first orbital demonstration mission in 2028. Meanwhile, despite facing significant technical and cost barriers, approximately €70 million (about $82 million) of private capital has been invested in space data center projects since 2020.

However, analysts point out that despite these innovative visions attempting to reconcile the conflict between AI competition and climate goals, they still face severe challenges in the short term. From the lagging regulatory policies to high engineering costs, and even the radiation risks of the space environment, investors need to be clear that this infrastructure reconstruction is not only a technological leap but also a long-term test of capital efficiency and policy adaptability.

Ground Architecture Reconstruction: From "Data Villages" to Thermal Cycles

According to a study on "Future Data Centers" conducted by Lenovo in collaboration with Opinium, traditional data centers are failing to effectively support AI workloads and are struggling to meet increasingly stringent sustainability and compliance requirements. While most IT decision-makers prioritize energy-saving technology partners, only 46% of respondents believe their current data center designs can support sustainability goals.

In the face of this dilemma, Lenovo, in collaboration with architectural firm Mamou-Mani and engineering company AKT II, has proposed radical design concepts. These include "data villages" and "data center spas." In this concept, servers will be stacked in a modular form near urban areas, with excess heat being delivered to local schools or homes. In the vision of "data spas," waste heat is used for health facilities, while the heat generated by the spas can, in turn, be reused for cooling technologies in data centers. James Cheung, a partner at Mamou-Mani, stated that this design aims to utilize biomimetic principles to break the stereotype of data centers as "faceless giant boxes," achieving symbiosis with the community In fact, some commercial practices for thermal energy reuse have already been implemented. Equinix utilized the waste heat from its data centers to heat the swimming pool for the Paris Olympics last summer. Additionally, Microsoft deployed an underwater data center as early as 2018, using seawater cooling and tidal energy. However, Lenovo also acknowledges that some of its proposed avant-garde designs may not be fully feasible until 2055 or later due to regulatory and engineering complexities.

Targeting Orbital Space: An Expensive but Tempting Space Race

Beyond Earth, the competition to send servers into orbit is heating up. Projects inspired by science fiction, such as Google's "Suncatcher," Alibaba's "Three-Body Computing Constellation" plan with Zhijiang Laboratory, and NVIDIA-supported Starcloud, are all exploring the potential of utilizing the space environment. Last November, Starcloud sent a chip into space, achieving performance 100 times greater than any previous on-orbit GPU computing capability.

The core appeal of space data centers lies in leveraging the vacuum cooling advantages of this environment and the year-round supply of solar energy. The EU-funded ASCEND research project is collaborating with Thales Alenia Space to explore the possibility of launching and assembling centers in orbit using robotics. Thales Alenia Space is currently developing related technologies, aiming for the first orbital demonstration in 2028.

Despite the enticing prospects, the commercial viability of deploying data centers in low Earth orbit remains in doubt. Jermaine Gutierrez, a researcher at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), admits that this is not realistic in the short term. The main obstacles are the extremely high launch costs, the need for radiation protection hardware, and maintenance difficulties. Perkins Liu, a senior research analyst at S&P Global, points out that the cost of launching large, high-power computing systems into orbit is extremely high. ESPI's cost model indicates that the success of space data centers largely depends on whether the launch prices of vehicles like Starship can be reduced to a low of $10 million.

Real Challenges: Regulatory Barriers and Cost Considerations

Whether it is innovative designs on the ground or grand ideas in space, regulation and cost are always unavoidable barriers. Perkins Liu from S&P Global emphasizes that while data center operators can adopt green technologies, they must be financially viable. The United States, with its abundant land resources and relatively flexible regulatory environment, is more likely to adopt large-scale, ultra-high-density park models; whereas Europe is constrained by its power grid and strict regulations.

Moreover, regulatory policy adjustments lag behind technological innovations. Simone Larsson from Lenovo points out that simply renovating old facilities is not always effective, which can trap operators in a "broken cycle." She believes that companies need to clarify which regulatory constraints need to be relaxed to ensure profitability while serving humanity. In this process, upgrading the power grid and rapidly building renewable energy sources will be fundamental prerequisites for achieving any innovation