Recent data centre developments in the UAE and Tunisia are placing strong emphasis on energy efficiency as AI workloads continue to drive higher power and cooling demands across digital infrastructure.
In the UAE, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Khazna Data Centres, and Agility have launched a pilot initiative to deploy AI technology from Phaidra aimed at improving energy efficiency across data centres and district cooling systems. The collaboration will evaluate advanced AI-driven control systems designed to optimise power usage, cooling performance, and operational efficiency, helping data centres achieve higher performance per unit of energy consumed.
The initiative builds on Khazna’s ongoing collaboration with Nvidia to develop next-generation AI infrastructure using the Nvidia DSX Blueprint. The pilot will assess whether reinforcement learning-based optimisation can reduce cooling energy consumption, increase IT capacity, and enhance resilience, particularly in high-temperature environments common across the region.
In Tunisia, sustainable digital infrastructure developer SoleCrypt and Schneider Electric have signed a memorandum of understanding to study and co-develop energy-efficient AI data centres designed to support intensive computing workloads while maintaining low carbon and water footprints. The project aims to position Tunisia as a sustainable computing hub serving both Europe and the MENA region, leveraging renewable energy potential, submarine cable connectivity, and growing digital infrastructure.
Together, the initiatives reflect a broader regional shift toward energy-efficient AI infrastructure, balancing rapid data centre expansion with sustainability and operational optimisation goals.
