Can Veolia Solve Data Centres' Resource Problem?

The data centre industry is facing a growing resource challenge, and Veolia is positioning itself as a key partner in addressing it.

At an event in London’s Outernet on 14 April, the French environmental services firm unveiled Data Center Resource 360, a new offering designed to help hyperscalers manage the rising demands on water, energy and waste across their facilities.

Veolia’s proposition is built around a simple premise – that resource management is becoming as critical as compute itself in modern data centre design and operation.

What is Data Center Resource 360?

Data Center Resource 360 is designed to support three core objectives: carbon neutrality, water positivity and circularity.

According to Veolia, the platform could reduce water usage by up to 75%, improve energy efficiency by up to 20% and increase waste recycling rates to 95%.

At the centre of the offering is Hubgrade, Veolia’s digital platform, which uses AI and predictive analytics to monitor water consumption, energy performance and maintenance in real time.

This allows operators to identify inefficiencies and optimise performance across complex environments.

Richard Kirkman, Veolia’s CEO for Northern Europe, was direct about the financial implications of resource use in data centre operations.

“Around 50% of the cost of AI infrastructure comes from water and power consumption,” he said. “Having innovation deliver that resource efficiency is critical,” he said.

The world's leading hyperscalers seem to concur, with Veolia already working with some of the most recognisable names in technology.

The names include Google, AWS, TSMC, Samsung, Intel and Micron, across more than 100 facilities globally.

Rising pressure on water and energy

The urgency behind Veolia’s approach is underscored by the scale of demand facing the industry.

Data centres and semiconductor manufacturing are expected to consume as much water as 46 million people by 2030, as capacity continues to expand rapidly.

At the same time, water scarcity is becoming a more pressing global issue.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia’s CEO, emphasised the geopolitical dimension of the challenge. “Water has erupted as a centre of conflict in the Middle East, important as oil, if not more,” she said at the event.

This creates both operational and regulatory challenges for data centre operators.

Nearly half of planned or under-construction facilities are now facing potential permitting delays, driven largely by concerns around water consumption and energy use.

As governments and communities scrutinise new developments more closely, the ability to demonstrate efficient resource use is becoming a prerequisite for growth.

Hyperscalers seek specialist expertise

Veolia’s growing list of partnerships reflect the increasing complexity of managing large-scale infrastructure sustainably.

During the event, Will Hewes from AWS outlined the company’s progress in reducing its environmental impact, including investments in carbon-free energy and water reuse.

“We’ll have, in the next couple of years, over 120 data centres around the world using recycled water,” he said, adding that AWS has also announced more than 45 water replenishment projects to date.

However, Hewes made clear that hyperscalers rely on specialist partners to deliver these initiatives.

“We’re really good at operating data centres but we are not water treatment or wastewater treatment operators,” Will said.

“We have some really complementary skillsets here with Veolia that can help us expand our ability to use recycled, instead of potable, water.”

From strategy to deployment

For Veolia, the challenge is not only developing new technologies but ensuring they can be implemented effectively at scale. The company’s experience in water and waste management infrastructure is the core to this approach.

“We’ve got the experience of not only developing new technologies but also that ‘deployment magic’. That’s often where projects fall down and dreams fall apart,” Richard explained.

“Our mantra is to get the solution on the ground, running quicker, on time and affordably.”

As data centre growth continues to accelerate, particularly in support of AI workloads, the ability to manage resources efficiently is becoming a defining factor in how and where new capacity is built.