DICE Network+ convene a panel at Data Centre World 2026

5 March 2026

During Data Centre World at London Tech Show on 4 March 2026, the DICE N+ convened an expert panel bringing together leading voices from industry, academia, and the circular economy space to explore how the data centre sector can transition towards more resilient, resource‑efficient models.

Scaling Circularity: How to create a resilient, high-value data centre infrastructure

With over 80 audience members, the discussion featured:

Together, they examined the material, operational, and systemic pressures facing digital infrastructure as AI‑driven demand accelerates and the opportunities for circular solutions to unlock new value, reduce risk, and extend the useful life of critical equipment. The panel explored how the data centre sector can transition from a linear to circular, resilient infrastructure.

Key challenges surfaced immediately: Today’s sustainability conversations focus heavily on carbon, energy, heat, and water, while the material footprint and rapid turnover of physical infrastructure are often overlooked. AI‑driven refresh cycles are shortening hardware lifespans, intensifying e‑waste and increasing reliance on critical raw materials concentrated in geopolitically sensitive regions.

Several systemic barriers were identified across procurement, operations, and finance. Short Capex cycles, bundled fixed-term support contracts, and deeply embedded organisational risk aversion encourage refreshing hardware every three years even though components are typically designed for 8–10 years of use. Vendors and service models reinforce these dynamics, making reuse appear risky despite evidence that refurbished and remanufactured devices can perform ‘as-new’ equipment on several cases.

Trust emerged as the dominant obstacle. While individuals are comfortable buying second‑hand tech at home, organisations remain reluctant to use remanufactured infrastructure in mission‑critical environments. The panel argued that this is a mindset and awareness challenge, not a technical one—refurbished equipment already meets performance and reliability requirements in many contexts. What’s missing is transparent provenance, consistent grading standards, and service‑level aligned warranties that build confidence in the secondary market.

Technology and data can play a central role. Digital Product Passports, open standards, and improved traceability would allow organisations to understand a component’s history, manage risk, and design services around refurbishment.

Examples from the field showed what’s possible. Operators like Deep Green are embedding circularity into their business models by buying second-hand devices and using waste heat to support local energy networks, reducing land and cooling costs while creating tangible community benefits. Meanwhile, cases such as the MOD extending the lifespan of shipboard data centres were highlighted, demonstrating that large-scale circular IT solutions already work when awareness and design are aligned.

The conversation also highlighted growing systemic pressures. Supply shortages, seen recently in memory chips, and GPUs, are no longer rare spikes but indications of a resource‑constrained future. Panellists warned that that the biggest risk is failing to prepare for a world where new hardware simply isn’t available at the pace required, meaning adopting circularity is essential.

When discussing how to influence global supply chains, the panel emphasised designing solutions with circularity built in, rather than expecting product design shifts alone. Solution providers, systems integrators, and operators need to embed reuse routes, multi‑phase life planning, and end‑of‑life strategies from the start. They also stressed the “risk of business as usual”: limits on energy, materials, and manufacturing capacity make maintaining current refresh cycles increasingly untenable.

 

Stakeholder awareness remains a fundamental gap, particularly among senior leaders who typically only consider circular approaches once supply pressures become acute. Some progress is emerging through European regulation and investor reporting requirements, which are pushing companies to track embodied carbon and understand IT’s share of overall emissions—often far larger than recognised.

Vendor involvement remains inconsistent. While some manufacturers run profitable remanufacturing programmes and claim they simply need more demand signals, panellists noted that investment in these schemes remains limited compared to what is needed for true industry-wide change.

In closing, each speaker highlighted the biggest lever for shifting from linear to circular systems:

  • Measuring materials as rigorously as energy
  • Improve sector-wide procurement criteria 
  • Understanding the real cost of delivering data
  • Responding to hard limits in energy and material supply

Across all contributions, one message was clear: circularity is no longer optional. Rising demand, shrinking supply chains, and environmental pressures mean the industry will ultimately be forced to reuse technology and those who plan early will be best positioned to thrive.

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