A joint initiative of the ZERO Institute Policy Programme, the ZERO Institute Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network, and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development.
Data centres are critical to the global digital economy but also major contributors to rising energy demand, carbon emissions, and water use. As artificial intelligence and cloud computing scale up, the sustainability of these facilities has become a defining challenge for the net-zero transition.
Join us on Friday 21st November 2025 from 4pm at Somerville College to hear from brings together early-career researchers and experts across disciplines, exploring how technical innovation and policy design can converge to deliver net-zero data infrastructure.
The programme opens with a presentation from the winners of the 2025 European ASHRAE Net-Zero Data Centre Competition, RISE-UP UK, which includes Oxford DPhil students alongside peers from Exeter, Loughborough and London South Bank universities. The team will explain how their design combined advanced cooling systems, on-site renewables, and adaptive controls; and showcase how interdisciplinary collaboration can transform energy-intensive infrastructure into climate-resilient systems.
A panel discussion will follow, featuring leading academics and policy specialists examining the broader environmental and regulatory context of data centre decarbonisation. Discussion themes will include:
- Policy frameworks and standards for sustainable data infrastructure
- Incentives for energy efficiency and renewable integration
- Balancing digital growth with water, land, and grid impacts
- Opportunities for collaborative research and innovation across disciplines
Open to anyone with an interest in sustainable energy systems, digital infrastructure, and policy development, this latest event in the Energy and Climate Conversations series from the ZERO Institute offers early-career researchers a space to engage, connect, and contribute to shaping the next generation of net-zero design. Advance registration is required; please register below or contact us for further information.
