- Microsoft is building its first datacenters made with superstrong ultra-lightweight wood in a bid to slash the use of steel and concrete, which are among the most significant sources of carbon emissions.
Microsoft engineers have developed a hybrid approach using cross-laminated timber, or CLT, a fire-resistant prefabricated wood material that will enable the company to reduce the use of steel and concrete. Microsoft reporter Sally Beatty explains that hybrid mass timber, steel and concrete construction model is estimated to significantly reduce the embodied carbon footprint of two new datacenters by 35 percent compared to conventional steel construction, and 65 percent compared to typical precast concrete.
Cross-laminated timber being used in two new Microsoft datacenters under construction in northern Virginia will enable the company to reduce the use of steel and concrete, two big contributors to carbon emissions. Photo courtesy of Microsoft.
In May, Microsoft announced it had achieved a 6.3 percent reduction in direct emissions over three years. But indirect emissions increased 30.9 percent, driven by the growth of datacenters and the hardware housed inside. Indirect emissions are particularly difficult to manage since they include carbon emitted during extraction, processing, manufacturing and even transportation of materials, and so are outside Microsoft’s direct control.
In response, Microsoft has mobilized a company-wide effort to accelerate decarbonization. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck task,” says Jim Hanna, who leads sustainability for Microsoft’s datacenter engineering team.
While no single action will close the gap between 2030 goals and current trends, Microsoft has multiple levers to pull.
Contract language is being updated to accelerate decarbonization by including low-carbon requirements for materials and equipment used in datacenter construction. Select high-volume suppliers will be required to use 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2030. Investments in low-carbon building materials – from concrete that permanently traps carbon dioxide to hydrogen-powered steel production – are being ramped up in a bid to accelerate commercial supply. And cross-laminated timber, a staple of low-carbon building in the European Union that has only recently begun to catch on in the U.S., is being put to the test in what Microsoft believes is one of the first hyperscale examples of engineered wood in a U.S. datacenter.
Microsoft isn’t the only company working hard to meet its sustainability goals. Many big companies and suppliers have their own ambitious carbon-reduction targets – and are tackling similar challenges.
“A lot of our suppliers are on the same journey as we are,” says Richard Hage, who leads global strategy for datacenter engineering at Microsoft. Everyone is “implementing key initiatives to lower the embodied carbon of their materials and their products.”
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
