This start-up is building data centres in space

This video is part of: Centre for Frontier Technologies and Innovation

AI is growing rapidly - but so is the energy demand for its development, which could rise 50% a year until 2030. Starcloud has lit upon a space-age solution, as CEO Philip Johnston explains: build datacentres out in orbit, where they’ll have unlimited access to the power of the sun and the cooling capacities of space. Starcloud is a World Economic Forum 2025 Technology Pioneer.

As AI energy demands soar, one pioneering start-up is taking data infrastructure off the planet. Starcloud is building space data centres to tap into the vast, uninterrupted solar energy available in orbit.

Space-based infrastructure supports large-scale AI development

Unlike Earth, where data centres face space and energy limitations, orbital centres can expand up to 50 times larger. These modules, each the size of five shipping containers, combine into massive 4km by 4km solar-powered structures with radiators stretching a kilometre long.

Space data centres reduce environmental impact

While the initial launch has an environmental cost, over time these space data centres emit ten times less CO2 than Earth-based ones powered by fossil fuels. They also help preserve land by avoiding the need to cover forests and fields with solar panels.

In addition to supporting AI, the vacuum and chill of space offer optimal conditions for quantum computing—eliminating the need for energy-intensive cooling on Earth.

A vision for the future of tech infrastructure

With AI-related electricity consumption expected to grow 50% annually through 2030, Starcloud plans to launch its first orbital data centre in August 2025, followed by a more powerful version in 2026. Within a decade, the company believes most new data centres will be in space.