How Holcim solutions are driving the data center revolution

With row upon row of whirring servers and flashing LEDs, the more than 10,000 data centers worldwide underpin the critical applications and IT infrastructure that we all rely on.

And data centers are hot, with a global market valued at USD 229 billion in 2023 that is expected to hit around USD 364 billion by 2034, according to Precedence Research.

Strong growth is driven by factors including rising demand for cloud computing, remote working, decentralized data processing, deployment of 5G networks and the rise of artificial intelligence.

Strong demand for sustainable solutions

Holcim is at the heart of this boom, with an order book featuring over 90 large-scale data center projects until 2028. We are supplying sustainable building solutions in the world’s largest data center hubs – Washington D.C., New York, London, Frankfurt and Paris.

With five projects specified for our low-carbon ECOPact concrete already in execution, Holcim is meeting demand from our customers – who include the major tech giants – for fast, scalable and efficient construction.

Nonetheless, such projects are complex, since data centers house everything from data halls and electrical rooms to air-handling units. Customers need to ensure a secure, stable internal environment, and meet ambitious sustainability targets tied to energy use and emissions. As such, they require high-value, bespoke building solutions.

One-stop-shop from foundation to rooftop

This is where Holcim is making the difference, offering a comprehensive range of data center solutions from foundation to rooftop. Our brands range from low-carbon ECOPact concrete and ECOPlanet cement, through to ECOCycle® circular solutions, Ductal high-performance concrete, Elevate roofing systems, and more.

Thanks to our size, we are able to deliver these advanced branded solutions at speed and scale. They can be used for everything from foundations, floors and walls, through to stairs, ceilings, and energy-efficient roofing systems that protect and reduce cooling costs. Even onsite office buildings can be built using carbon pre-stressed concrete (CPC).

Partnering with hyperscalers

Holcim’s data center customers range from big tech companies to wholesale and retail colocation providers, and demand for our solutions is reinforced by collaborations with industry groups and leaders, including Infrastructure Masons (iMasons), Meta Central Applied Science, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others.

Through iMasons, a global non-profit focused on digital infrastructure, we work to raise awareness of low-carbon solutions and overcome adoption challenges. In July 2024, the association issued an open letter signed by members of the iMason Climate Accords expressing a desire for data center vendors to adopt EPDs, to accelerate a reduction in embodied carbon emissions, while the body also supports their construction using “greener” concrete.

Working with Meta AI on concrete mix design

Our open source collaboration with Meta’s Adaptive Experimentation and Physical Modeling teams is developing Artificial Intelligence tools to optimize the design, production, and delivery of low-carbon concrete. This will further reduce its carbon footprint, improve process efficiency, precision and speed, while setting an example for AI-driven sustainable construction.

"Meta is working with Holcim and other industry leaders to develop AI for sustainable concrete mix design so that hyperscalers can build physical infrastructure at scale while meeting their public climate targets. We have open-sourced this innovation and we are sharing the outputs through venues such as the Open Compute Project."

Julius Kusuma| Principal Research Scientist and Tech Lead, Meta

Helping Amazon meet its sustainability goals

Holcim's collaboration with Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund has led to collaborations in several start-ups like 3D printing services and others to advance sustainable building.

Our partnership with Amazon has accelerated the adoption of ECOPact for use in several of the company’s data centers, notably in Northern Virginia for Amazon Web Services (AWS), to help meet sustainability goals verified by Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).

These partnerships underscore Holcim’s leadership in innovation and sustainability in the data center sector. By combining low-carbon materials, energy-efficient systems, and AI-driven technologies, and through close collaboration with our customers, Holcim is helping them to achieve their ambitious sustainability targets, and drive the data center revolution worldwide.