Abstract:
The accelerated growth of AI and cloud computing has placed data centres at the centre of global infrastructure strategy, where power availability has manifested as the ultimate limiting factor. This seminar addresses the realities behind AI growth, separating hype and myth from actual infrastructure demand.
We will explore how data centre operators currently interface with transmission grids, how those dynamics must evolve, and why power constraints are fundamentally reshaping where computers will be located globally. We will also examine the sustainability challenges of energy-intensive computing and discuss the biggest operational and strategic opportunities facing the energy and tech sectors today.
Bio:
Alfonso Aranda Arias is EVP Global Operations at ACS Group Digital & Energy and has previously served as Chief Commercial Officer of the global hyperscale data centre developer-owner-operator company established joint with GIP (part of BlackRock).
He brings experience across digital infrastructure operations, hyperscaler-led demand planning, infrastructure investment and platform development, informed by prior leadership roles at IBM, Vantage Data Centers, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. His focus includes the convergence of power, digital infrastructure and capital deployment supporting the new infrastructure investment cycle.