As digitalisation accelerates, data centres are a vital and quickly growing infrastructure across Europe and the world, supporting our ever-growing use of cloud services and storage, AI, streaming services and more.
However, their rapidly increasing energy demand is a challenge. They also have a substantial environmental and climate impact, mainly due to their need for large quantities of cooling water and their CO2 emissions, if the energy that fuels them is not decarbonised.
Data centres are responsible for about 1.5%, or 415 Terawatt-Hours (TWh), of the world's total yearly electricity consumption. Projections indicate that their consumption is set to more than double towards 945 TWh by 2030, primarily due to the substantial growth of energy-intensive accelerated computing, which is used mainly for AI purposes (source: ‘Energy and AI’, IEA).
The EU aims to triple its data centre capacity by 2035.
Increasing our computing capacity is important for strengthening EU’s technological independence and digital sovereignty. The EU therefore aims to triple its data centre capacity over the next 5-7 years.
Sustainable, flexible and well-designed data centres that can adjust their electricity use to the grids conditions, can help lower the overall cost of the electricity system, improve grid stability, and integrate more renewable energy.
Rating scheme for EU data centres
To measure the energy consumption and the environmental and climate impact of EU data centres, greater transparency from data centre operators is key.
The Commission proposed a common rating scheme for data centres on 21 September 2026, which aims to make the energy and water use of data centres more transparent. Also on 21 September, a Commission report to the European Parliament and Council, assessing the reported data from 2024, reaffirmed the need for a common rating scheme.
In addition, the scheme is expected to make it easier to compare different data centres in a same region and promote new designs or appropriate efficiency in data centres. These designs and interventions should not only lead to a considerable reduction of energy and water consumption, but also promote the use of renewables and low carbon emissions energy, re-use of waste heat in nearby facilities and heat networks, as well as to make the grid more efficient.
A call for feedback was open for 4 weeks during Spring 2026 to consult stakeholders on the draft proposed rules.
Minimum performance standards
The Commission is preparing a legislative proposal on minimum performance standards for data centres and launched an open public consultation and call for evidence on 21 September 2026 to collect feedback from stakeholders and the public on the need for and content of such a proposal.
The consultations are open until 14 December and the final publication of the proposal is planned for the second quarter 2027.
A study on the minimum performance standards for EU data centres has also been commissioned to support the development of EU rules on the topic. It started early 2026 and runs for a period of 24 months.
A data base for reporting
The Energy Efficiency Directive introduced an obligation for the monitoring and reporting of the energy performance of data centres. A European database, prepared by the Commission, collects and publishes data, which is relevant for the energy performance and water footprint of data centres with a significant energy consumption.
The Delegated Regulation on the establishment of a common Union rating scheme for data centres (EU/2024/1364) sets out the information and key performance indicators for the reporting obligation.
The Commission has taken several steps to help EU countries and reporting data centres to better understand the European database and fulfil their reporting obligations
- User manual for accessing the European database (3 September 2025)
- Reporter guide (3 September 2025)
- Frequently asked questions and guidance (17 September 2026)
- List of national contact points and information resources (11 March 2026)
For questions on the delegated regulation and/or the reporting scheme please contact: ENER-B2-DATA-CENTER
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (ENER-B2-DATA-CENTER[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu).
For questions when using the reporting platform, please log in to the platform and use the 'contact us' form (top right corner).
Assessment and analysis
The Commission will regularly assesses the energy efficiency and sustainability of EU data centres that have reported their data and indicators.
In July 2025, the Commission published a report that includes an analysis of the data submitted in the 2024 reporting period. A report for the 2025 reporting period is under preparation and will be published soon.
In addition, the Commission also provides an online dashboard presenting the aggregated data foreseen in the directive and in the annex of the delegated regulation.
The Commission launched a call for feedback, running from 26 March – 23 April 2026, to collect feedback on its draft regulation shaping a common EU-wide rating scheme for data centres in the EU.
Documents
In 2025, for the preparation of the rating scheme, the Commission ordered a second study on the energy performance and sustainability of data centres.
In 2023, for the preparation of the reporting scheme, the Commission ordered a study on the energy performance and sustainability of data centres.
Related links
Legislation
- Commission Delegated Regulation establishing a common Union rating scheme for data centres and annexes
- Report on the energy efficiency of data centres in the EU
- Delegated Regulation on the establishment of a common Union rating scheme for data centres (EU/2024/1364)
- Energy Efficiency Directive (EU/2023/1791)
- Press release: Commission enhances energy efficiency and sustainability of data centres in the EU (21 September 2026) and Questions and answers
- In focus: Data centres – an energy-hungry challenge (17 November 2025)
- European database for the energy performance and water footprint of data centres