Grid Integration, Operations, Planning: The New Requirements for Data Centre Infrastructure

Karsten Paeth is responsible for sales and solutions business at ABB for the Electrification Distribution Solutions division in Central Europe. In an interview with eco, he outlines ABB's role in data centre infrastructure and explains why data centres are no longer merely technical infrastructure, but a strategic pillar of Europe's digital future. From planning and operations to grid integration, Paeth highlights the challenges posed by exponential growth and the solutions required. At this year's German eco Data Centre Expert Summit on 10 and 11 June in Dreieich, he will be present as an expert and speaker.

What role does ABB play along the data centre value chain, and what are your core competencies?

ABB is a leading global technology company in the fields of electrification and automation. In data centres, we are responsible for the electrical infrastructure, with a focus on energy and control technology. We get involved at an early stage - already in the conceptual planning phase, we help shape the design of the power supply. Together with the grid operators, we also support the integration at the grid connection point. Through our early in-depth knowledge of how electrical systems can be optimally designed, benefits such as modularisation and later scaling can be achieved in addition to maximising availability.

For a long time, data centres were viewed primarily from a technical perspective. Why are they now so much in the spotlight when it comes to broader societal and infrastructural issues?

The importance of public infrastructure for modern societies was highlighted by last year's large-scale outage in Spain. Energy and data infrastructure are now so closely interconnected that data centres have long been an integral part of an overall system. As data centres grow, the infrastructure must keep pace. And if it does not, a bottleneck emerges. This means that data centres now function as a strategic backbone for the security and competitiveness of an economy.

What significance do data centres have for the stability and security of digital infrastructures in Germany and Europe?

Data centres are of central importance for security and stability - one that cannot be overestimated. This is comparable to the automation and robotics of previous decades. Those economies that have invested in new technologies were able to create and expand high-quality jobs within a productive society. The development of IT represents the next stage of evolution, and high-performance data centres form the foundation for keeping economies competitive. High productivity, innovation and economic success are key to stability and security in Europe.

What factors are crucial for ensuring fail-safe and resilient data centre operations?

First of all, this begins with an assessment of the current and planned future data centre capacity at the grid connection point. At this stage, it can already be conceptually ensured that when the systems are later implemented, they are operated within their framework parameters - for example, regarding their short-circuit withstand capability. Furthermore, maintenance strategies can be developed through the use of both proven and innovative energy infrastructure technologies. These proactively enable increased system availability or, in the event of a fault, minimise the extent of damage so that normal operating conditions can be restored as quickly as possible - sometimes in an automated manner.

What new requirements does the growth of data centres bring for planning, energy supply and operation?

First and foremost, the rapidly increasing capacity of data centres is increasingly posing a challenge for grid operators - as data centres are often scaled up in stages, and the grid connection must be ready by the time the next stage is implemented. At the same time, the consumer and generation structure within the grid is also changing, partly due to the expansion of renewable energy and battery storage. It is therefore becoming increasingly necessary for data centre operators, planners, technology suppliers and grid operators to work together on concepts that integrate data centres, are technically feasible and optimise economic efficiency. This increasingly requires more complex control engineering expertise - including the analysis of data from the data centre and various other sources - as well as system concepts that can also enable a data centre to contribute to the grid. It also requires designs that minimise impacts on existing equipment within the data centre and on other grid participants during expansion.

How is the interaction between data centres and energy infrastructure developing, and what role will ABB play in the overall system in future?

Data centres are becoming major consumers, with power requirements comparable to those of large cities - and this will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years. Their integration into local grid infrastructure, together with an increasing number of renewable energy generators and storage systems, will have a significant impact on grid stability and economic efficiency. There are already system concepts in which the data centre can contribute to the grid - for example, through the use of ABB's medium-voltage UPS systems. Particularly in the case of fluctuating loads, which are to be expected in AI data centres, a continuous exchange of information between data centres, the grid and other participants is a decisive factor for technically and economically optimised operation.

What key challenges do you currently see in practice, and what course corrections are needed for sustainable further development?

On the one hand, not only is the data centre market developing at an enormous pace, but so is grid expansion, the addition of renewable energies, battery storage, and the electrification of mobility and industry. These developments can no longer be viewed as standalone projects, but must be conceptually linked, which means there is a greater need for coordination with various stakeholders. At the same time, the lead times for data centres in Germany are comparatively long. Early cooperation - particularly in the case of large-scale data centre projects - not only builds trust but also enables better advance planning for the supply industry to ensure the production capacity of the required equipment, so that procurement can proceed to a greater extent in parallel.

In addition, the construction and operation of a modern data centre infrastructure can only be ensured with a sufficient supply of skilled workers. Even though the electrical industry is increasingly improving concepts such as preventive diagnostics, remote maintenance or service using augmented reality to support service personnel - in the long term, we need more young people in Germany who are interested in electrical engineering.