The data center industry will be defined by three critical challenges in 2025: power availability, sustainability, and innovation in design. As AI fuels explosive demand for high-performance data centers, the question remains: how will we as an industry, rise to meet these challenges? At Verne we’ve been tackling these issues for more than a decade, building the expertise and solutions needed to navigate this evolving landscape. In this blog, I want to share my predictions on the challenges we face, their potential impact, and why I believe the Nordics hold the key to solving them.
The race for power
Regions with robust energy grids and access to renewable sources will emerge as the winners in 2025.
The past year has seen a dramatic surge in demand for power as enterprises and governments around the world ramp up their AI capabilities. According to 451 Research, European data center demand is projected to grow by 2.3 GW in the next two years, but one of the bottlenecks to this growth is power availability. Locations that cannot meet the demands because of delays in power grid expansions could see operators slow or even cancel planned facilities.
Demand vs. sustainability
Data center operators will face a growing struggle between balancing rapid growth with global sustainability goals.
One of the unintended consequences of this increased demand is a challenging dichotomy between growth and sustainability. Many operators are already facing pressure to ensure that increased energy use doesn’t come at the expense of global carbon reduction targets. There are legitimate concerns that AI infrastructure could inadvertently prolong the life of coal-fired plants or necessitate the construction of new gas-fired plants to meet power requirements. This is prompting stricter regulations and public pressure on data centers around the world.
Rethinking data center design
Data centers not built for density are going to face increasing density challenges and will fall behind in the competitive landscape of 2025.
Innovations in data center design are key to balancing growing density demand with environmental goals. High-performance workloads generate significant heat, necessitating innovations in cooling and infrastructure. While cooling innovations like liquid cooling will be a key part of the equation, other strategies—such as improved airflow management, energy-efficient hardware, and optimized power usage—will also play a crucial role in the redesign of data centers.
The Nordic advantage
As I see it, this moment represents a critical inflection point for our industry—one where innovation and strategic foresight will define success. The Nordics, in particular, are well positioned to become the future of AI compute. The region offers abundant renewable energy, reliable power grids, and a naturally cool climate—all of which provide a solid foundation for meeting the needs of compute-intensive workloads while prioritizing environmental sustainability.
This advantage is especially important as traditional hubs like the FLAP-D markets face mounting constraints, from power grid limitations to sustainability challenges. These once-dominant hubs are now grappling with the demands of AI and high-performance computing, which require greater energy efficiency and density than ever before. The Nordics provide a dynamic alternative, enabling us to deliver scalable, resilient, and environmentally responsible solutions that align with the future of high-performance computing.
At Verne, we’re not just watching these trends; we’re actively shaping them. We’re not only leveraging the unique strengths of the Nordics but rethinking data center design to stay ahead of modern demands. By aligning workload placement with both economic and environmental priorities, we’re empowering organizations to thrive in an era where sustainability and performance must go hand in hand.