{"id":1083,"date":"2026-11-03T14:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T14:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iqeq.com\/be\/insights\/powering-intelligence-can-data-centres-and-the-energy-transition-coexist\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T14:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T14:20:16","slug":"powering-intelligence-can-data-centres-and-the-energy-transition-coexist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iqeq.com\/be\/insights\/powering-intelligence-can-data-centres-and-the-energy-transition-coexist\/","title":{"rendered":"Powering intelligence: Can data centres and the energy transition coexist?"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"text-block standard-spacing  \">    <div class=\"container fade-in\">\n        <p><span class=\"purple-text\" data-contrast=\"none\">By Tamas Mark, Global Head of Real Assets\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"purple-text\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"lead-text\"><strong>Artificial intelligence is frequently described as a software revolution, but the scale and composition of the capital now being committed to it make its next phase an infrastructure story as much as it is a technology one.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Indeed, as AI-driven demand for computing power rockets, attention is turning to the physical systems that support it \u2013 from data centres and electricity networks to energy generation, cooling and grid capacity. Investors, policymakers and industry participants face a fundamental question: can the required growth in digital infrastructure be delivered alongside the sustainable energy transition?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Addressing this question, our new whitepaper, developed in partnership with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sustainablerealestateforum.com\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Sustainable Real Estate Forum<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> (SREF), brings together perspectives from IQ-EQ and a range of industry contributors to examine the investment, infrastructure and governance considerations critical to the next phase of AI growth.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The report explores how demand for AI is translating into demand for physical infrastructure, and what that means for investors, fund managers, developers and policymakers. It explores the role of energy availability, operational resilience, fund governance, risk management and project delivery in supporting long-term digital infrastructure growth.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Inside the report, we hear from IQ-EQ, SREF, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zurich.co.uk\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Zurich Insurance<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nortonrosefulbright.com\/en\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Norton Rose Fulbright<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rics.org\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">RICS<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.startcampus.pt\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Start Campus<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, alongside a foreword from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/christianbaudis.com\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Christian Baudis<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, digital entrepreneur, futurist and former Google executive.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Our contributors investigate:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The significance of fund governance in AI infrastructure investment, with energy geography becoming a key governance issue (IQ-EQ)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:false}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Why resilience, insurability and risk engineering are becoming increasingly important considerations for data-centre investors (Zurich Insurance)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:false}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">How contracts, power rights and risk allocation can help make AI infrastructure bankable (Norton Rose Fulbright)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:false}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The role of carbon measurement, skills, delivery capability and resilient infrastructure in supporting sustainable data-centre growth (RICS and Start Campus)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:false}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">How capital, infrastructure delivery and energy transition objectives can be better coordinated across the digital infrastructure ecosystem (Sustainable Real Estate Forum)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:false}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Together, we seek to conclude whether \u2013 and how \u2013 soaring demand for computing can be translated into data-centre infrastructure that is sustainably powered, resilient, insurable, financeable and effectively governed.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Download the report below to explore the findings and recommendations in full.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn--purple\" href=\"https:\/\/iqeq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IQ-EQ-SREF-Powering-Intelligence.pdf\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Download the whitepaper<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We hope you find the report useful and welcome any questions you may have. To learn more about IQ-EQ&#8217;s support for real assets, infrastructure and digital infrastructure investments,<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/iqeq.com\/services\/real-assets\/\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">click here<\/span><\/b><\/a><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n            <\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":1084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[87,180,181,183],"expertise":[3],"service_category":[],"class_list":["post-1083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-real-assets","tag-data-centres","tag-infrastructure","tag-digital-infrastructure"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO 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