The digital economy is accelerating at an extraordinary speed. Artificial intelligence, Digital Earth initiatives, FinTech, social media, cloud platforms, and streaming services are driving a global expansion, which is entirely dependent on data centres. Data centres are buildings filled with racks stacked full of computers called servers.  These buildings range in size from a few shipping containers called “modular data centres” to massive warehouses covering areas equal to tens or hundreds of football fields called “hyperscale complexes.”  What goes on in these data centres is rapidly and profoundly transforming modern society, creating digital economies, reshaping how we work, communicate, and connect.

But there is a hidden cost. These data centres consume extraordinary amounts of electricity and water.  Data centres are estimated to be already consuming about 1% of all the electricity produced in the world, and by 2030, their energy needs are projected to increase to 8% or more.  Since most of this electricity is drawn heavily from fossil-fueled grids, the carbon footprint of data centres already exceeds the aviation industry, despite efforts to use renewable energy sources.  As for water, which data centres mostly use for cooling, a single hyperscale facility typically uses more than 25 million litres a day—about as much water as a city of 50,000 people. In water-stressed regions the collision between digital growth and individual needs is already evident.

The question is:  Must there be a conflict between the data centre boom and people’s needs for electricity and water, or can they converge into something better?

Meta Moto's Upcycle Symbiosis

It’s fine to make data centres more energy efficient and use less water but rather than just making them “less bad” there is a real opportunity hidden in this crisis; an opportunity to create a symbiotic system that integrates a data centre into water and energy utilities to generate clean drinking water, renewable energy from waste,  and multiply value for the community.

The principle behind UpCycle Symbiosis, developed by Meta Moto, is to integrate three traditionally siloed infrastructure domains: wastewater treatment, waste management,  and data centres.  By putting them into a synergistic ecosystem, the data centres no longer drain public water reservoirs and burden grids, but become part  of an efficient, regenerative, and sustainable urban water, energy, and information technology infrastructure.

The idea has deep provenance. Meta Moto’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Jonathan Trent, spent years at NASA designing life-support systems. In space every drop of water, every joule of energy, and every gram of waste must be carefully managed, dutifully recovered, and meticulously reused simply because resupply is either incredibly difficult or completely impossible. 

Now, the Meta Moto team is applying this human-space-mission logic to urban infrastructure. The constraints are eerily similar, sharing the challenges of limited life-essential resources in closed environments regulated by systems that must run flawlessly for decades.

A Choreography of Closed Loops

The core of an UpCycle hub is the community’s wastewater treatment plant, reimagined not as a smelly way-station for dirty water and bio-solids (faeces) that are processed and discarded into the environment, but as an engine for circular, sustainable infrastructure that includes water processing for reuse, waste-to-energy, and information communication technology. In the UpCycle Symbiosis hub, the water treatment plant expands its biosolids treatment to include other organic waste from the community and hosts a modular data centre that becomes a functional part of the system. 

Here’s how it works: 

• Non-potable cooling water - Partially treated wastewater cools the data centre, saving millions of litres of potable water.

• Waste to Energy - Biosolids and other organic waste are fed into anaerobic digesters, producing usable biogas, keeping these wastes out of landfills and keeping biogas (a potent greenhouse gas) out of the atmosphere.

• Power to Processing - Biogas is converted into electricity and heat to power the modular data centre, designed for edge computing or AI workloads, forming a distributed network of interactive data centres.

• Heat to Efficiency- Wastewater heated by the data centre first warms the digesters before going on to advanced purification, which is significantly facilitated by using warm water.   

This circular UpCycle system-of-systems, this industrial ecosystem, is orchestrated and facilitated by digital twin simulations that depend on years of data stored in data centres. These dynamic virtual models allow operators to simulate, monitor, and optimise the flow of water, resources, and energy in real time. Here, too, is where Meta Moto’s cross-disciplinary expertise is applied, drawing on decades of experience with digital enablement of critical infrastructures.

Why Infrastructure Must Change Now

The convergence of technology growth, environmental stress, and financial transformation makes this a decisive moment for infrastructure planning. Several global megatrends are reshaping demand and exposing vulnerabilities in ways that datacentres, utilities, and governments can no longer ignore.

1. The AI Boom

Generative AI is reshaping every sector, from healthcare to logistics. Goldman Sachs estimates it could add $7 trillion to global GDP by 2035, but only if the underlying infrastructure can scale sustainably. Training large AI models already consumes vast compute cycles and electricity, while real-time inference at scale requires edge datacentres closer to users. AI is both a driver of resource demand and a tool for optimisation, particularly when deployed to manage energy flows, water systems, and digital twins.

2. Digital Earth – Planetary-Scale Data

The emerging Digital Earth vision brings real-time integration of satellite data, IoT sensors, urban digital twins, and climate models. This critical digital infrastructure is federating the sciences and will massively multiply demand for compute, storage, and bandwidth. Beyond science, Digital Earth underpins future planetary governance, disaster response, and sustainable development. Datacentres are its hidden backbone. Without circular, resource-positive integration of energy and water, the global ambition for Digital Earth could stall.

3. FinTech and the 24/7 Digital Economy

Finance has gone fully digital. Blockchain settlement, high-frequency trading, and AI-driven risk modelling demand ultra-low-latency datacentres distributed across global markets. As central banks explore digital currencies and FinTech platforms scale across Asia, Europe, and Africa, the requirement for resilient, sustainable infrastructure grows sharper. Circular integration through models like UpCycle not only reduces operating costs but makes facilities more attractive to institutional investors.

4. Social Media and Streaming

Every TikTok clip, Instagram reel, YouTube stream, and immersive XR chat depends on datacentre infrastructure. Social platforms now account for a majority of global data traffic, and the rise of metaverse-style immersive media will intensify this demand. The environmental footprint of “scrolling culture” is hidden but immense. The opportunity is to ensure every datacentre serving this traffic becomes a net contributor to local resilience rather than a drain on water and power.

5. Mobile Imaging Explosion

The world’s smartphones have become billions of always-on video and photo devices. Each day, humanity generates hundreds of petabytes of photos, live-streams, and videos, increasingly in 4K and 8K resolution. These are processed, stored, and served back through cloud infrastructure. The simple act of capturing and sharing memories is now a core driver of datacentre growth. This hidden demand curve makes it even more urgent to integrate circularity and efficiency into digital infrastructure.

6. Post-Quantum Cybersecurity

The coming shift to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) will require sweeping changes to digital infrastructure. Current encryption standards risk obsolescence once quantum computers reach a practical scale. Governments, utilities, and data centre operators must prepare for cryptographic agility, enabling the ability to swap in quantum-safe protocols at scale. This transition will demand new compute capacity and secure control systems, making circular and resilient infrastructure even more valuable.

7. Quantum Computing

Quantum computing itself, while still emerging, promises breakthroughs in materials science, logistics optimisation, and climate modelling. But the infrastructure requirements are substantial: cryogenic cooling, ultra-stable energy supply, and integration with classical datacentres. Even in hybrid models, quantum workloads will amplify the need for sustainable, high-reliability energy-water systems. Early integration of circular infrastructure positions operators to host and benefit from this next wave of compute.

8. Water Stress

By 2030, nearly half the global population will live in water-stressed regions. Datacentres are increasingly competing with communities for access to potable water, whether in Arizona, Singapore, or Australia. Some jurisdictions have already imposed moratoria on new datacentres due to their resource intensity. UpCycle’s use of treated wastewater for cooling, coupled with water recovery and reuse, provides a path to reconcile digital growth with community needs.

9. Net-Zero Mandates

Governments are tightening emissions, waste, and water regulations. The EU’s Fit-for-55, Singapore’s escalating carbon taxes, and Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism reforms all set hard deadlines. Utilities and operators must shift from incremental efficiency gains to compliance-by-design systems. Circular models that produce renewable energy and recover resources will be better positioned to meet these tightening mandates.

10. ESG Capital Flows

Global investors are funnelling trillions into assets that prove measurable environmental, social, and governance outcomes. Green bonds, transition finance, and blended capital are increasingly contingent on auditable performance. Traditional datacentres risk becoming stranded assets if they cannot demonstrate climate alignment. By contrast, circular hubs that sell recycled water, renewable energy, and resilience services are financially bankable.

11. Industrial Symbiosis Proven

The concept of industrial ecosystems is no longer experimental. Kalundborg in Denmark has exchanged heat, water, and materials between industries for decades. Singapore’s Tuas Nexus is redefining waste-to-energy at an urban scale. These cases demonstrate efficiency gains of 20–30%. The opportunity now is not invention but adaptation, tailoring symbiotic design to local technical, social, and regulatory conditions. Meta Moto’s UpCycle framework does precisely this, enabled by high-fidelity digital twins.

Why This Matters

UpCycle Symbiosis offers a pathway where:

• Utilities achieve compliance with net-zero and waste mandates while lowering operating costs.

• Datacentres reduce their environmental footprint and gain social licence to operate in water-stressed regions.

• Governments reframe wastewater plants as flagship clean-tech hubs, aligning with urban resilience goals.

• Communities benefit from skilled green jobs and improved local resource security.

A wastewater plant becomes a beacon of Industry 5.0, being human-centred, tech-enabled, and climate-positive. Industry 5.0 is the next phase of industrial evolution, building upon Industry 4.0 by emphasising human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience in industrial processes. It focuses on integrating human creativity and skills with advanced technologies like AI and robotics to create a more sustainable, resilient, and human-friendly industrial landscape. This involves a shift from a solely technology-driven approach to one where humans and machines collaborate to optimise production and achieve societal goals. 

About Meta Moto

Meta Moto is an independent consultancy that helps governments, utilities, and investors re-engineer infrastructure for a changing world. We combine decades of cross-sector experience with cutting-edge digital engineering to deliver projects that are technically sound, strategically aligned, and future-ready. Our expertise spans feasibility studies that ground investment decisions in engineering reality, digital twin frameworks that let assets be modelled and optimised before they are built, and circular design approaches that transform waste into value. Clients turn to us not only for our technical depth but for independent, evidence-based advice that aligns projects with policy, ESG standards, and long-term investment pathways. Informed by NASA-derived closed-loop design principles and global best practice, Meta Moto provides clarity in complexity, helping organisations navigate risk, unlock opportunity, and deliver infrastructure that endures.

To discuss how Meta Moto can help your organisation to navigate the future, or to learn more about our work, please visit Meta Moto's website or contact us directly by email.