MIT launches Data Center Power Forum to tackle demand

MIT Energy Initiative has launched the Data Center Power Forum in September to convene MIT researchers and industry experts to explore solutions for powering rapidly growing data center electricity demand.

• Forum launch and core actions: Data Center Power Forum launched to bring together MITEI member companies and MIT researchers to address data center power needs; background context includes global data center power demand expected to more than double by 2030 and U.S. data center consumption: 4% of electricity in 2023 rising to 9% by 2030 (Electric Power Research Institute). The forum will provide insights on energy supply, grid operations, built environment, market design and regulatory policy, and the Future Energy Systems Center is funding relevant projects; Deep Deka has been named program manager. Event context:

  • September (forum launch): agenda — Data Center Power Forum launch (time/location not provided)
  • May 2025 symposium: agenda — energy to power the expansion of AI
  • Fall 2024 Annual Research Conference: agenda — session “The extreme challenge of powering data centers in a decarbonized way.”

• Background, participants, and research focus: MITEI has funded dozens of projects relevant to data center energy and currently sponsors more than a dozen data-center-related projects across MIT departments, focusing on low-/zero-carbon energy supply, electrical grid management, electricity market policy, energy-efficient processors and power electronics, behind-the-meter low-/no-carbon power plants, energy storage, AI for grid optimization, siting analyses, and cooling solutions. Industry engagement includes meetings with representatives from Google, Microsoft, Ferrovial S.E., and Exelon Corp., and MITEI events have included representatives from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.