Research, development, and education: laying foundations for Arctic and Northern data centers

The global data center industry is a huge and rapidly growing sector. This growth has resulted in the development of significant data center clusters in various northern regions. Furthermore, the desire to attract new data center investments has been incorporated into regional development plans and strategies in different parts of the Circumpolar North. Although the policy-makers seem to have great expectations, they and the general public often know little about the industry, which consumes huge amounts of electricity and plays an immense role in the digitalization process that the world is experiencing. This article attempts to increase awareness, knowledge, and understanding of these matters among all relevant stakeholders by introducing data center-related research and development activities and education in the Arctic and the North, as well as research concerning the development of the data center industry in the cold, northern environment. After all, it is often argued that these particular conditions offer advantageous circumstances for the construction of environmentally friendly and sustainable data centers.