Europe is fighting for AI progress: data centers are left behind!

Europe is fighting for AI progress: data centers are left behind!

The expansion of data centers in Europe, especially in Germany, is overshadowed by countries such as the USA and China. As vienna.at reports, the total installed data center capacity in Germany will increase by 60% to over 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030. However, this increase is not enough to keep up with planned U.S. capacity, which is expected to more than double to about 95,000 MW by 2030. China is also following suit with a strategy to expand data center capacity more quickly.

Overall, an increase of around 70% to 28,000 MW is forecast for Europe by 2030. A remarkable increase in computing power for artificial intelligence (AI) can be observed within Germany. The proportion of computing power used for AI should be quadrupled from 530 MW to 2,020 MW by 2030, which corresponds to around 40% of the total power in data centers.

Growing energy needs and challenges

However, the growing network of data centers raises questions about energy requirements. In 2025, the energy consumption of data centers in Germany was 21.3 billion kilowatt hours (kWh), which corresponds to almost doubling within the last ten years. This development highlights the challenges Europe faces in keeping pace with global computing power competition.

In addition to the data mentioned above, the German association Bitkom has highlighted the need to significantly accelerate the expansion of data centers in order to meet the demands of the future. While both private and public actors across Germany are reacting accordingly, the lead of the USA and China in computing power still appears to be significant.

Education and innovation as key

Another relevant topic is digital education, as offered by the Open University (放送大学). Blogger Kikuchi highlights the pros and cons associated with enrolling in such an institution. The advantages include low tuition fees of around 700,000 yen, high flexibility in learning, and the ability to choose courses from different subject areas. Interestingly, the hurdle of entrance exams is eliminated as access is opened through a document check. Each student also receives a student ID card, which allows discounts on public transport.

On the other hand, however, there are also challenges such as the difficulty of maintaining motivation and the mostly one-sided communication with teachers. Kikuchi suggests using social media to network students or attend in-person events to mitigate these disadvantages. However, the distance learning university offers high-quality education that enables access to renowned lecturers.

The “H”: A simple character

Finally, the art of writing is also discussed, especially the letter “H”, which according to lettering.org is easy to create. It consists of three lines and can be drawn in different variants, such as 3D or cursive typography. Interestingly, the “H” has its origins in a symbol for a fence, which explains its shape. Learning to write this letter requires precision but can be learned quickly, making it a suitable introduction to graphic and type design.

This variety of topics shows how important it is to keep up with global developments in various areas, be it technology or education.