The environmental costs of digital communications are significant. Streaming movies also drives up energy consumption. But there is good news for everyone who loves their Netflix account and doesn't want to overtax the climate: The use of novel optical processes can revolutionize data transmission and drastically reduce its energy hunger. AIT photonics expert Bernhard Schrenk is working on this as part of a globally unique project.
"Streaming is the new flying" is how the Neue Züricher Zeitung puts it
Number with 21 zeros
The reason for this is the explosive growth of data transported on the Internet. In 2018, they reached a magnitude of 33 zettabytes, which is a number with 21 zeros. By 2025, the volume of data will rise to 175 zettabytes. Streaming will account for 80 percent of that growth. Large parts of the energy required to transmit such huge volumes are eaten up in data centers, for example. With their air-conditioning systems, which cool the permanently running high-performance computers, they stand as tangible buildings in the landscape. These facilities have nothing in common with the cloudy airiness of a cloud, a term that is very fashionable in information technology right now. In order to combat global warming and climate change, the use of digital media must also drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These are produced because electricity is still largely generated from oil, coal and gas.
Let there be light
The answer to the problem is photonics: the science of the technical application of light. A German study estimates that further development of this revolutionary optical communication technology could save three billion tons of CO2 by 2030. Photonics is a field of research in which much sounds like science fiction. It moves at the frontier of what is conceivable today - and sometimes probably beyond.
In Bernhard Schrenk, the AIT has a world-renowned, multi-award-winning expert in this field. Schrenk is in the process of developing a globally unique method of transmitting information using light alone. This ensures that the gigantic avalanche of data can be handled without overloading the system. At the same time, it is energy-efficient and does not produce any emissions of environmentally harmful substances. Schrenk's work thus makes a decisive contribution to sustainability and the achievement of climate protection goals.
Our tablets, smartphones, iPads or game consoles seem like harmless door openers into the colorful digital infinity, also due to their design. But using the conveniences of the Internet is energy-intensive and has significant consequences for the environment
AIT prominently represented in ambitious EU project
Another branch of science Schrenk is involved with is quantum optics. Here, the focus is on how light and tangible matter influence each other. The EU plans to invest around one billion euros over the next ten years to ensure Europe is a leader in quantum technologies. It is one of the EU's largest and most ambitious research initiatives. The UNIQORN project, which was designed under Schrenk's leadership, was awarded the contract by the European Commission. The AIT is coordinating the collaboration of 17 partners from all over Europe. The researchers' goal is that, in the end, we will all benefit from the advantages of the quantum age.
Highly integrated photonic circuits for quantum communication:
A revolutionary technology with enormous potential.
