Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Industrial  -  November 6, 2024

Microsoft Builds Lower-Emission Data Centers Using Wood

Microsoft is building its first data centers 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.

The software company’s engineers 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.

The hybrid mass timber, steel and concrete construction model is estimated to reduce the embodied carbon footprint of two new data centers by 35% compared to conventional steel construction and 65% compared to typical precast concrete.

In May, Microsoft announced it had achieved a 6.3% reduction in direct emissions over three years. Its indirect emissions increased 30.9%, driven by the growth of data centers 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 are thus outside of Microsoft’s direct control.

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, according to a statement. 

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.

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