Key Takeaways<\/p>\n
- \n
- Energy Problem:<\/strong> Data centers consume 1-1.5 percent of global electricity – trend sharply increasing.<\/li>\n
- Photonic Solution:<\/strong> Chips that operate with light instead of electricity drastically reduce energy consumption.<\/li>\n
- Glass instead of Silicon:<\/strong> The Milanese startup Ephos replaces silicon with glass – 20 times more energy-efficient.<\/li>\n
- Less Cooling:<\/strong> Glass chips operate at room temperature and save up to 50 percent of total costs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
Related:<\/span>CoreDNS Plugins: Cluster DNS without Auth Protection<\/a> \/<\/span> 622 CVEs: Prioritizing instead of Panic Patching<\/a><\/p>\n
Bad news for friends of DVDs. As Warner Bros. just confirmed, many of them, especially those from the years 2006 to 2008, are literally rotting. Glass, on the other hand, has long been considered a possible candidate to preserve text, images, sound and video data forever.<\/p>\n
A Euronews section \u201cThe Big Question\u201d now suggests that glass, combined with photonics, could be the answer to how data centers become more efficient through the alternative storage medium. The goal is that this will not constantly require new power plants to meet their energy hunger, and at the same time reduce costs.<\/p>\n
Because, according to the International Energy Agency, data centers already account for about 1.0 to 1.5 percent of global electricity consumption. In Ireland, with its many data centers, it is even 20 percent. If capacities continue to grow at this rate, all data centers together would already consume about 1,000 terawatt-hours of electricity per year by 2026, which is roughly as much as Japan.<\/p>\n
Glass chips have negligible cooling needs<\/h2>\n
A challenge that can be solved by employing photonics and glass as an alternative material for such chips. Photonic chips process and store data using light rather than electricity. They are used across data communications and also as lab\u2011on\u2011a\u2011chip (LOC) devices for health applications, autonomous driving, and engineering. The global photonics market already reached approximately 983.5\u202fbillion\u202fEuro (906.6\u202fbillion\u202fEuro) in 2024 and is projected to grow to 1.642.6\u202fbillion\u202fEuro by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights.<\/p>\n
Google is currently the only company deploying photonics at scale. The tech giant and hyperscaler thus reduced its data\u2011center energy consumption by 40\u202fpercent – and saved substantial costs on building out network infrastructure. The Milan\u2011based firm Ephos manufactures such photonic chips and is a disruptive player in the industry because it replaces silicon with glass in its chips. However, Google currently uses only silicon chips, CEO and founder Andrea Rocchetto said in a video contribution of „The Big Question“. Glass chips would be 20 times more energy\u2011efficient.<\/p>\n
Ephos promises 50 percent savings<\/h2>\n
„”We build chips out of glass. Glass has a special property. It is the same material used to make fiber optics. By using the same material as for fiber optics, we can minimize a type of signal loss that occurs when you glue a fiber optic cable and a chip together“, the Ephos CEO further explains. The company’s glass chips would also operate at room temperature.<\/p>\n
This means significantly less cooling effort, which would make companies building new data centers less dependent on countries or regions where it is naturally colder, such as Ireland, Iceland, or the northern parts of Scandinavia, and where cooling would otherwise be essentially free.<\/p>\n
Ten percent of a data center’s energy costs would be attributed to networking, 40 percent to cooling. “By using photonic technologies like those from Ephos, around 50 percent of the costs can thus be saved”, Rocchetto says.<\/p>\n
Security Aspects of the New Technology<\/h2>\n
What are glass chips for data centers?<\/strong> Photonic chips made of glass process and transmit data using light instead of electricity. Less waste heat, lower cooling demand and potential energy savings make them relevant for data centers and their physical as well as logical security architecture.<\/p>\n
Shifting to photonic\u2011based infrastructure also has security implications. Optical signals are fundamentally harder to tap than electrical – physically tapping fiber optics requires significantly more effort and causes measurable signal loss. For data centers handling sensitive information, a photonic architecture could therefore provide an additional security advantage.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the technology raises new questions: How secure are the manufacturing processes? How resilient is the supply chain for specialized glass chips? And how does the attack surface change when optical networks replace electrical ones in data centers? The security community is closely watching this development.<\/p>\n
Location selection becomes more flexible<\/h2>\n
Previously, hyperscalers had to factor in cooling when choosing data center locations – a reason why Scandinavia, Iceland, and Ireland are preferred sites. Glass chips that operate at room temperature would reduce this dependency. Data centers could be built closer to users, reducing latency and strengthening digital sovereignty – an aspect that is increasingly relevant for European companies and DSGVO compliance.<\/p>\n
Key Facts at a Glance<\/h2>\n
Global data center electricity consumption:<\/strong> 1.0-1.5 percent of global consumption, forecast 2026: about 1,000 TWh per year<\/p>\n
Ireland:<\/strong> 20 percent of national electricity consumption from data centers<\/p>\n
Google savings:<\/strong> 40 percent less energy consumption through photonics<\/p>\n
Glass vs. silicon:<\/strong> 20 times more energy efficient according to Ephos<\/p>\n
Overall savings:<\/strong> Up to 50 percent of data center costs (10% networking + 40% cooling)<\/p>\n
Photonics market:<\/strong> 984 billion USD (2024) \u2192 1,643 billion USD (2032)<\/p>\n
Fact:<\/strong> Data centers consume roughly 1.5 percent of global electricity demand worldwide, according to IEA \u2013 trend rising.<\/p>\n
Fact:<\/strong> Gartner predicts that by 2028 over 30 percent of all new data centers will adopt energy\u2011efficient chip technologies of the next generation.<\/p>\n
Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
Every question is locked. A tap unlocks the answer.<\/p>\n
\nWhat are photonic chips?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
Photonic chips use light instead of electrical current to process and transmit data. They are used in data communications, in lab\u2011on\u2011a\u2011chip devices in the healthcare sector, in autonomous driving and in engineering. By using light, they operate more energy\u2011efficiently and generate less waste heat.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n
\nWhy is glass better than silicon for photonic chips?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
Glass is the same material that fiber optics are made of. When the chip and the fiber optic are fabricated from the same material, signal losses at the interface are eliminated. Moreover, glass chips operate at room temperature, drastically reducing cooling requirements – according to Ephos, they are 20 times more energy efficient than silicon\u2011based photonic chips.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n
\nHow much electricity do data centers currently consume?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
According to the International Energy Agency, data centers account for about 1.0 to 1.5 percent of global electricity consumption. At current growth rates, they will consume around 1,000 terawatt-hours by 2026 \u2014 roughly equivalent to the entire electricity usage of Japan. In Ireland, data centers already account for 20 percent of the country’s electricity consumption.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n
\nIs anyone already using photonics in data centers?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
Google is currently the only company deploying photonics at scale, which has enabled it to cut the energy consumption of its data centers by 40 percent. However, Google is currently using silicon-based photonic chips. The Milan-based startup Ephos is developing the next generation using glass as its base material.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n
\nWhat security advantages do optical networks offer?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
Optical signals are fundamentally harder to intercept than electrical ones. Tapping fiber physically requires more effort and causes measurable signal loss. For data centers handling sensitive data, photonics therefore potentially offers an additional security advantage.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n
<\/p>\n
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