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<p><strong>Thirty Google searches use about as much energy as boiling a liter of water, according to a well-known comparison. “Just imagine how much energy a large data center consumes.” Through innovations in IT, the Radboud Center for Green Information Technology aims to drastically reduce energy demand in the coming decades. We spoke with researcher Jeroen Jansen and Knowledge Transfer Officer Isabel Rijk, who are jointly coordinating this new initiative.</strong></p><p><img src="https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/WJ_Ej5q1_O0_Br_S1_QLT_2_U_Yh_Pu0_KRJ_Of_W_Rn_AX_Zj_W_Pe_H0_836a6ba422.jpeg" alt="WJEj5q1O0BrS1QLT2UYhPu0KRJOfWRnAXZjWPeH0.jpeg" srcset="https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/thumbnail_WJ_Ej5q1_O0_Br_S1_QLT_2_U_Yh_Pu0_KRJ_Of_W_Rn_AX_Zj_W_Pe_H0_836a6ba422.jpeg 245w,https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/small_WJ_Ej5q1_O0_Br_S1_QLT_2_U_Yh_Pu0_KRJ_Of_W_Rn_AX_Zj_W_Pe_H0_836a6ba422.jpeg 500w,https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/medium_WJ_Ej5q1_O0_Br_S1_QLT_2_U_Yh_Pu0_KRJ_Of_W_Rn_AX_Zj_W_Pe_H0_836a6ba422.jpeg 750w,https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/large_WJ_Ej5q1_O0_Br_S1_QLT_2_U_Yh_Pu0_KRJ_Of_W_Rn_AX_Zj_W_Pe_H0_836a6ba422.jpeg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="5120" height="2880"></p><h2>Building Connections</h2><p>The goal of the center, launched by Radboud University, is to bring together researchers working on Green IT. Isabel: “There are so many connections to be made, both within and outside the university. Research findings can be applied slightly differently in another field, or they may hold significant innovative value there. By sharing our networks, we can make a greater impact together.”</p><p>Jeroen: “In our models, we include three dimensions as standard: consistency in the form of quality and safety, sustainability, and economics. If you want to get the business community interested in a particular innovation, you must always include that economic dimension. Internally, you can’t sell sustainability unless you also demonstrate the economic benefits. Fortunately, in most of our studies, the potential gains in terms of economics and sustainability go hand in hand. This applies just as much to large companies as it does to startups and small and medium-sized enterprises. By combining sustainability with technological development, we help both society and businesses move forward. But that societal component—the “green” aspect, so to speak—is always central to our research.”</p><h2>Multiple Perspectives</h2><p>Green IT has two main focuses: how to use IT to make processes or products more sustainable, and how to make IT itself more sustainable. Jeroen: “There are more centers like this at universities in the Netherlands. But often the emphasis is either on software or on hardware. We’re fairly unique in that we cover both aspects at our center—and that we also facilitate collaboration between the research in both areas.”</p><p>Isabel: “That fits well with us; we’re a comprehensive university. Both elements are present in multiple areas of the faculty. And it’s actually a good thing that there are multiple perspectives.” Jeroen: “It still happens too often that you only find out during a meeting that a close colleague is working on a similar project. Research is still too fragmented across different departments and institutes. For us, therefore, greater collaboration—and in new ways—is key. We do this, for example, through regular meetings and substantive seminars. And we recently introduced an internal grant program, through which researchers can jointly apply for a grant. Interest in applying for projects under this program is growing steadily.”</p><h2>Sustainable Data Storage</h2><p>When it comes to making IT itself more sustainable, data storage and processing stand out. Isabel: “Three percent of global electricity consumption is already going toward data traffic, and that figure is rising rapidly. If we can store data more efficiently and make all those data centers even slightly more sustainable, it will have a huge impact.”</p><p>Jeroen: “We’re working on fundamentally new technologies, often based on how the brain works. Data storage in a single atom, for example; it has now been demonstrated that you can use an atom as a memory element.”</p><p>So it’s quite convenient that Radboud University has the quietest lab in Europe. Isabel: “It floats inside our building, like a kind of large box that absorbs vibrations. The quieter the lab, the higher the resolutions we can achieve with a microscope. That enables us to observe individual atoms.”</p><p>Artificial Intelligence is never far away from all these techniques and applications. “Thanks to these types of data storage methods, training AI systems will soon require much less energy and time. This keeps the total energy consumption of our systems manageable. And we’re likely heading toward an era in which different methods of data processing will be combined. For example, there are data storage methods that are more efficient but make it harder to retrieve the data. These are ideal for long-term storage, such as when digitizing entire libraries. Information that you need very quickly is then stored in a different way, one that allows you to retrieve it quickly.”</p><h2>Sustainable Products and Processes</h2><p>The other pillar is making processes or products more sustainable with the help of IT. Jeroen: “If something breaks down in a factory, you often have to shut down production entirely. We’re developing AI methods that let you predict how much time operators have left before they have to shut down a major factory process: predictive maintenance. This allows you to anticipate issues better and prevents the process from coming to a standstill. That’s good for the environment and for the company.”</p><p>Isabel: “We use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for this, which allows you to predict a product’s environmental impact over its entire lifespan. By redesigning a production process, for example, CO2 emissions or water consumption can be reduced. This allows a company to determine whether the economic gains and the ecological footprint are in proportion and to make better choices. LCA isn’t typically viewed as Artificial Intelligence, but it does employ many of the same methods. The latest innovations in AI methods for systems with many unknown variables can also be very valuable for LCA.”</p><p>Another example is the research being conducted on solar cells, according to Jeroen. “It turns out that the quality of sunlight can vary enormously from minute to minute. How effectively you can generate energy with a solar panel is therefore also highly variable. Using a unique measurement setup, we can measure the quality of sunlight and, consequently, the effectiveness of solar panels: AI is, of course, also of the utmost importance here.”</p><h2>Awareness</h2><p>Another goal of the Center for Green IT: raising awareness. “Very few people stop to think about how much energy something consumes,” says Isabel. “A well-known comparison is that running thirty Google searches—right from your computer at home—consumes about as much energy as boiling a liter of water. With the increasing use of data, this is unsustainable. We want to get the message out that fundamentally new technologies need to be developed.”</p><p>Jeroen: “Through the center, we’re building a network of companies, government agencies, and advocacy groups. We’re committed to long-term collaboration—some partners have been working with our researchers for thirty years. We’re even appointing a few researchers who don’t act as domain experts, but rather as experts in forging connections between the various subfields of Green IT. That’s where the greatest gains can be made.”</p><p>Isabel: “Drawing on our strengths and expertise, we’re seeking partners in various application areas to increase our impact on sustainability. In this way, we aim to support industry, the energy sector, and the scientific community with new knowledge and innovations.”</p><p>Would you like to learn more about AI applications in the energy sector, or about developments at Radboud University? Please contact us via our contact form.</p>

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<p>Thirty Google searches use about as much energy as boiling a liter of water, according to a well-known comparison. “Just imagine how much energy a large data center consumes.” Through innovations in IT, the Radboud Center for Green Information Technology aims to drastically reduce energy demand in the coming decades. We spoke with researcher Jeroen Jansen and Knowledge Transfer Officer Isabel Rijk, who are jointly coordinating this new initiative.</p>