EU Will Work on Setting Water Use Caps for Thirsty Data Centers

The European Union will work on setting minimum performance standards to curb water usage in data centers as the continent confronts potential shortages over the coming decades.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, will propose the measure by the end of 2026 as part of a scheme to make data centers, whose demand for water and energy is set to surge, more sustainable, according to a draft document seen by Bloomberg News.

“Key sectors for the EU’s strategic autonomy such as battery production, semiconductors, hydrogen, microchips and datacentres consume large volumes of (often ultra-pure) water,” a draft of the ...