JLL Data Center Outlook Global 2024
JLL Data Center Outlook Global 2024
Global | 2024
jll.com
Data Centers
2024 Global Outlook
AI and the green energy transition will bring new challenges
and opportunities
Data Centers 2024 Global Outlook
Contents
Executive summary 3
01
Demand drivers 5
Digital economy 6
Generative AI 8
02
Data center design 9
Increasing rack density 9
Liquid cooling 12
Data center operations 13
Increasing power efficiency 13
Software-fueled efficiency improvements 14
Algorithms and CPU cycles 14
03
Power sourcing 15
Global power shortage 16
Sustainable energy 18
Low-carbon strategies to overcome
supply issues 20
04
Opportunities for sustainable growth 22
Key contacts 24
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Executive summary
The democratization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) The impact on the data center industry is
stands to be the biggest transformation in the data immense. Power presents both an opportunity
center industry since the sector burst onto the and a threat to the sector and as a result we have
scene. The data center industry has experienced dedicated our outlook to this evolving dynamic.
explosive growth over the past decade, driven Our report explores in detail, what this means for
by ever-increasing demand for cloud services developers and operators in 2024 and beyond,
and the expanding use of web-enabled devices including case studies of ingenuity and innovation
globally. Now in 2024, AI and machine learning as the sector evolves.
is prompting a fundamental shift in data center
design, site selection and investment approach.
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Demand drivers
The ever-growing digital economy and
democratization of AI will drive demand for more
and larger data centers. With many real estate
asset classes seeing a pullback for developers and
investors, data centers stands out as a promising
asset class in 2024.
Power sourcing
The urgent need for more power will lead data
center operators and even governments to
scramble to secure required utility, especially
sustainable sources of energy while spurring
innovation. AI is driving extreme scale for new
developments with requirements now ranging
from 300 megawatts (MW) to over 500MW. Site
selection criteria have changed dramatically with
a more prominent focus on power availability and
delivery timelines.
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1
Aug 2023, IDC #US49346223, Revelations in the Global StorageSphere
2023, John Rydning
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The growing need for storage translates to growing Most new data centers built 10 years ago had a
demand for data center space, fueling rapid critical IT load capacity of less than 10MW. Today,
development. In the past decade, developers have it is not uncommon to hear developers announce
steadily increased the capacity of new colocation new builds of 100MW or more.
and hyperscale data centers. Structure Research
estimates that global colocation MW will grow at
15.2% CAGR over the next five years.
6
Global data center colocation market size by country in primary, secondary and emerging markets Contents →
London
Salt Lake City 912
176
Paris
Denver 387
Vancouver 108
26 Amsterdam
Dallas-Fort Worth Dublin
Northwest 227 488
737 Toronto
620 Chicago 506 Berlin
784 New Jersey 92
Las Vegas / Reno New York 410
180 152 Frankfurt
Boston Madrid
Northern California 160 660
693 Los Angeles 99 Tokyo
265 Northern Virginia Seoul 898
Phoenix Atlanta 3,640 545
698 390
Houston Hong Kong
Austin / San Antonio 109 Mumbai 576
433 Querétaro 392 Chennai
41 87
Kuala Lumpur
233
Campinas Singapore
410 1,000
Rio de Janiero
76 Johannesburg
Barueri Cape Town 121
221 Sydney
29 Melbourne 637
324
Primary markets have at least 600MW Secondary markets typically have Emerging markets will continue to
of supply and many of these markets are 100–600MW of supply and have grow as Edge deployments bring data
now pushing beyond the 1,000MW mark. recently become the focus of attention centers closer to the user and national
They will continue to see strong growth as as investors, lenders and developers data sovereignty laws mandate in-
colocation and hyperscalers consolidate seek new opportunities in less country storage.
their positions in safe metros that have crowded markets.
become sub-regional hubs.
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Generative AI poised to transform the Training and tuning application workloads for
data center market AI are not typically latency-sensitive. Therefore,
Generative AI will significantly disrupt the industry, developers building AI-specialized data centers
impacting not just the number of new data centers can be more flexible in site selection and
needed but also their design and location. strategically choose geographies with significant
available transmission power, low energy costs,
Bloomberg Intelligence projects the generative abundant sustainable energy sources and climates
AI market will grow to $1.3 trillion over the next that support free cooling.4
10 years from a market size of just $40 billion in
2022.2 Data center operators and developers that Given high demand and growing data
want to capitalize on this market opportunity must requirements, data center development is
recognize that AI-specialized data centers look positioned to continue at a rapid pace in 2024.
different than conventional facilities. However, as hyperscalers and other large
requirements sign commitments to space
Generative AI requires more densely clustered far in advance of delivery, those with smaller
and performance-intensive IT infrastructure than requirements will need to plan ahead to find the
the framework found in standard data centers, capacity they need.
producing much more heat. The power consumed
by generative AI workloads fluctuates more than
traditional IT workloads, creating challenges in
optimizing a facility’s overall efficiency. Key considerations
For investors, how will generative AI change
For example, the workload of an AI image the data center landscape, particularly the
generator application requires much more needs of each stage of model development?
power than a text generation application.
For enterprises and operators, are
Additionally, power requirements for the three
generative AI workloads best served
stages of generative AI — model creation,
in on-premise, colocation, or public
tuning and inference — vary significantly. Data
cloud environments?
center operators need to plan and allocate
power resources based on the type of data
being processed and the stage of generative AI
model development.3
2
Bloomberg, Generative AI to Become a $1.3 Trillion Market by 2032, Research Finds, June 2023
3
Jul 2023, IDC #US51013223, Generative AI: Implications for the Datacenter, Sean Graham and Peter Rutten
4
IDC #US51013223, 2023
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design
significant jumps in the coming years.
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Hyperscalers, which have been at the forefront data centers will need to adapt to accommodate
of adopting AI and high-performance computing the higher power densities required to support
(HPC), have the greatest need for high-density these advanced IT loads.
infrastructure. Currently, their large facilities have
an estimated average density of 36kW per rack, In addition to increasing computational needs,
which IDC estimates will grow at a 7.8% CAGR rising demand for hyperconverged infrastructure
in the coming years to approach 50kW by 2027. (HCI) is driving the upward trajectory of
Many AI cluster requirements are projected to hit power density.
80-100kW/rack.5
As demand for higher rack density grows,
Despite its exponential growth throughout innovations on the infrastructure side are enabling
2023, generative AI is still in its early stages of the industry to keep up. Promising sustainable
democratization for most organizations and end- energy solutions and the advent of contemporary
users. As this transformative technology reaches cooling solutions, especially immersion cooling,
more mainstream users, enterprise and colocation will help operators continue to increase density.
Figure 1
Average rack density is increasing, especially in hyperscale data centers
(Asia Pacific excluding Japan)6
60
50
40
kW/rack
30
20
10
0
2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
July 2023, IDC #AP50326223, Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) DC Deployment Model and Spend Forecast, 2H22: 2022–2027,
5, 6
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Caine Boesenberg
Group Account Director, Data Centers
Asia Pacific
JLL
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“
Liquid cooling systems demonstrates a transformative step in
data center operational efficiency. Beyond processing power, the
industry’s focus on advanced heat management aligns with a
commitment to sustainable high-performance computing, departing
from conventional systems, not only for sustainability purposes but
also to acclimatize to the increasing need for HPC.
Andrew Green
Regional Practice Lead, Data Centers, APAC
JLL
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Figure 2
What is the average annual PUE for your largest data center?
Data center average PUE worldwide 2007-2023
2.5
Average annual PUE
2.0
1.5
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Note: Worldwide; 2007 to 2022; 669 respondents; IT and data center managers.
Source: Uptime Institute; ID 1229367
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Uptime Institute Global Data Center Survey 2022, page 28
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IEA, Data Centers and Data Transmission Networks
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EirGrid in Ireland estimates that electricity demand be necessary, as delivery timelines are two to
from data centers could more than double to 30% three years in the future. Users and developers
of all consumption in 2028. In Denmark, electricity will also increasingly seek sites in secondary
usage from data centers is forecast to grow from and tertiary markets due to timelines involved
1% to 15% of total consumption by 2030. in power procurement. Colocation operators
will also strive to operate more efficiently,
The data center industry’s explosive growth comes making use of the “stranded power”, or power
as companies are trying to navigate the challenges contractually guaranteed that isn’t used, in order
of the global energy transition from fossil to maximize capacity.
fuels to sustainable sources and aging energy
infrastructure. Antiquated grid networks were Load shedding disrupts grid reliability
not built to handle today’s power-intense data Data center operators in some markets now
flows on top of record deployments of electric must contend with load shedding, a practice
vehicle infrastructure, increases in advanced of intentionally shutting down power that has
manufacturing and urban areas’ growing historically been used primarily in developing
electricity demand. Timelines for sourcing power economies. In the past year, utilities in California
have increased two or threefold to produce the and Texas have deployed the practice during
large amounts of power required for data centers. periods of high demand. Meanwhile, Germany
is contemplating using load shedding in 2024 to
Grid infrastructure globally requires enormous
control the energy supply in high-demand areas.
investment. For example, one-third of Europe’s
grid infrastructure is over 40 years old, requiring an Although a temporary reduction of electricity
estimated €584 billion ($641 billion) of investment supply helps balance the power grid in times of
by 2030 to meet the European Union’s green goals. high demand or a shortage of generation capacity
In the United States, meeting energy transition and prevents large-scale disruption from a total
goals will require an estimated $2 trillion in order grid collapse or a blackout, load shedding can be
to upgrade the grid and feed more renewable particularly inconvenient for data center operators.
energy into the power supply. So far $13 billion Data centers rely on Uninterrupted Power Supply
has been allocated for modernizing the grid (UPS) to ensure the continuous operation of their
through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which servers, network equipment and critical systems.
also includes grants to expand capacity for wind Data centers have systems in place to protect
and solar power as well as microgrids that can against power disruptions such as redundant
function independently in the event of a blackout. power sources and backup generators. However,
frequent load shedding can place additional
Due to the significant investment required,
strain on these backup systems and result in
challenges in sourcing power will continue to
higher energy consumption, leading to higher
be a factor for developers and users seeking
operational costs and impacting environmental
data center capacity. Advanced planning will
sustainability efforts.
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“
In addition to location and design considerations, data center
operators are starting to explore alternative power sourcing strategies
for onsite power generation including small modular reactors (SMRs),
hydrogen fuel cells and natural gas. With power grids becoming
effectively tapped out and transformers having lead times of over
three years, operators will need to innovate.
Andy Cvengros
Managing Director, U.S. Data Center Markets
JLL
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IEA, Data Centers and Data Transmission Networks
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“
Opportunity and threat are often two sides of the same coin. While
the global energy crisis presents an ongoing challenge to the data
center sector it also opens opportunities for sustainable growth.
Globally, there is a sizable energy infrastructure funding gap. By
partnering with renewable energy projects, companies, cloud
providers and data center operators, as the largest purchasers
of renewable energy, have the ability to transform and drive the
energy infrastructure sector. Through long-term PPAs that are
driving development of new renewable energy projects, investing in
advanced grid technologies that improve stability and optimization
to onsite power generation that can export power back to the grid
during periods of low demand.
Daniel Thorpe
Associate Director, EMEA Data Centers
JLL
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04
The growth of AI and intensifying focus on
sustainability present opportunities for data center
developers and operators to evolve their business
for sustainable
centers for training and tuning AI models. In the
meantime, there will be significant opportunities
to redesign existing data centers to cope with
Key considerations
For investors, operators and enterprises
Has your organization sufficiently factored
in the transformative impact of Generative
AI into its strategic decision-making
around data centers?
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“
Managing aging infrastructure with increased demand intensity, alongside new
ESG requirements and legislation, provide data centers with a uniquely challenging
environment in 2024. However, each is an opportunity to drive meaningful change
using a combination of data center expertise, platform tools and truly creative
innovation – we’re set for an extremely exciting year.
Catriona Shearer
EMEA Data Center Consulting Lead
JLL
23
jll.com
South America
Zach Cheney
[email protected]
This report has been prepared solely for information purposes and does not necessarily purport to be a complete analysis of the topics discussed, which
are inherently unpredictable. It has been based on sources we believe to be reliable, but we have not independently verified those sources and we do not
guarantee that the information in the report is accurate or complete. Any views expressed in the report reflect our judgment at this date and are subject to
change without notice. Statements that are forward-looking involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause future realities to be materially
different from those implied by such forward-looking statements. Advice we give to clients in particular situations may differ from the views expressed in this
report. No investment or other business decisions should be made based solely on the views expressed in this report.