Show Notes
How do you engineer data center cooling infrastructure, when AI capacity is constantly evolving?
AI is transforming the technology inside data centers at an extraordinary pace, but the infrastructure that it relies on is built to last for decades. As demand for AI continues to grow, so do compute requirements and heat generation, creating new challenges, and opportunities, around how teams design, power and cool data centers sustainably.
In this episode, we hear from Oakley Roberts, President of Data Centers at Trane Technologies, discussing the shifting engineering and technology landscape. He explores how teams build data center infrastructure for changing needs by adapting cooling systems to different climates, balancing liquid and air cooling, reducing water use, and designing modular systems.
Michael Winterson, Secretary General of the European Data Centre Association, expands the conversation to the broader infrastructure and policy picture. He discusses Europe's ambitious plans to expand data center capacity and the questions that growth raises around grid capacity, energy, regulation and decarbonization. Michael explores what it will take to support that expansion, and how policy and infrastructure will need to evolve alongside it.
Together, they reveal a bigger shift in how we think about data center infrastructure. The future isn’t just about building more of the same or pushing for more technology and standardization. It’s about balancing repeatability and flexibility and designing smarter systems that can be deployed at speed, while adapting to changing technologies, local environments, and the broader systems around them.
EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction - Why the era of the standard data center is over 01:03 Engineering flexibility 03:26 How AI is changing data center cooling 06:45 Rethinking data center water usage 08:00 Designing now for an uncertain future 10:28 Can policy keep up with data center growth? 11:36 Europe’s ambitions for the Digital Decade 13:12 Why Europe needs more computing 14:29 What’s holding back data center sustainability 15:43 Keeping flexibility while implementing standardization 19:52 How data center innovation benefits the whole economy 26:03 The race for speed, modularity, and adaptability
> Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/E1Jhz6263xc?si=jFwNDxp2WIKJAkvk LEARN MORE Trane Technologies Blog – What is Data Centre Cooling? [https://tinyurl.com/DataCentreCooling] Trane Technologies Blog – Infomaniak Data Center Heat Recovery [https://tinyurl.com/InfomaniakDataCenter] EUDCA Website [https://www.eudca.org/]
Trane Technologies Website [https://www.tranetechnologies.com/] Scott Tew [https://www.tranetechnologies.com/en/index/blog/author/scott-tew.html] Dominique Silva [https://www.tranetechnologies.com/en/index/blog/author/dominique-silva.html] Oakley Roberts [https://www.tranetechnologies.com/en/index/blog/author/oakley-roberts.html] Michael Winterson [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelwinterson]
ABOUT HEALTHY SPACES Healthy Spaces, a podcast by Trane Technologies, brings together engineers, innovators, and industry leaders for bold conversations at the frontier of sustainable technology.
In Season 6, we zero in on the moment when innovation becomes infrastructure - when breakthroughs move beyond the lab and start transforming industries. From pioneering AI research and next-generation data center cooling to climate-resilient cities and pathways to decarbonization, each episode explores the innovations at the cutting-edge of sustainable technology.
Designed for leaders, builders, and anyone with a stake in the future of sustainable technology, the series offers a front-row seat to the ideas and innovations shaping what comes next.
The challenges are real. The solutions are being built now.
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At Climate Week NYC 2025, the message was clear: progress on sustainability happens when industries come together. From data to construction to commercial real estate, collaboration and innovation are turning ambition into action. In this special episode, recorded live at Trane Technologies’ “Spilling the Tea” panel discussion during Climate Week NYC, we sit down with three leaders driving real change: Holly Paeper, President, Commercial HVAC Americas at Trane Technologies; Julia Gisewite, Chief Sustainability Officer at Turner Construction Company; and Suzanne Fallender, Vice President of Global Impact & Sustainability at Prologis. They share how their organizations are accelerating decarbonization across the built environment - from low-carbon materials and circular energy systems to data-driven decision-making and community impact. Together, they reveal why the future of sustainable business depends on shared goals, transparent collaboration, and a willingness to rethink what growth really means. About Healthy Spaces Healthy Spaces is a podcast by Trane Technologies where experts and disruptors explore how climate technology and innovation are transforming the spaces where we live, work, learn and play. This season, hosts Dominique Silva and Scott Tew bring a fresh batch of uplifting stories, featuring inspiring people who are overcoming challenges to drive positive change across multiple industries. We’ll discover how technology and AI can drive business growth, and help the planet breathe a little bit easier. Listen and subscribe to Healthy Spaces on your favorite podcast platforms. Links: Trane Technologies at Climate Week 2025 (https://www.tranetechnologies.com/en/index/news/events/climate-week-2025.html) Sustainability for Growth - Blog (https://www.tranetechnologies.com/en/index/blog/sustainability-leadership/sustainability-for-growth.html) How AI Can Help Dramatically Reduce Energy Demand and Emissions - Blog (https://www.tranetechnologies.com/en/index/blog/solutions-innovation/how-ai-can-help-dramatically-reduce-energy-demand-and-emissions.html) Driving Business Value: Embracing Circularity (https://www.tranetechnologies.com/en/index/blog/sustainability-leadership/driving-business-value-embracing-circularity.html) Trane Technologies at COP30 (https://www.tranetechnologies.com/en/index/news/events/cop30.html)
The world is waking up to a new reality: recycling alone won’t fix our waste problem. To build a truly sustainable future, we need to go circular - rethinking how we design, use, and recover the materials that shape our lives. We can beat the endless downcycle by designing smarter, innovating materials, and even dreaming up new consumption models. This isn’t recycling 2.0. It’s the blueprint for a new economy, one that preserves value, reduces strain on natural resources, and transforms waste into opportunity. In this episode, hosts Scott Tew and Dominique Silva are joined by Jenelle Shapiro, Circularity Leader at Trane Technologies; Julia Gisewite, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Nelson Russom, Waste and Circularity Program Manager, both at Turner Construction Company. Together, they explore how circular design is reshaping everything from manufacturing and supply chains to construction and end-of-life recovery, and why collaboration and innovation are key to keeping materials in play, not throwing them away. About Healthy Spaces Healthy Spaces is a podcast by Trane Technologies where experts and disruptors explore how climate technology and innovation are transforming the spaces where we live, work, learn, and play. This season, hosts Dominique Silva and Scott Tew bring a fresh batch of uplifting stories, featuring inspiring people who are overcoming challenges to drive positive change across multiple industries. We’ll discover how technology and AI can drive business growth and help the planet breathe a little bit easier. Listen and subscribe to Healthy Spaces on your favorite podcast platforms. Closing the Loop with Circularity: Zero Waste to Landfill - Blog Remanufacture and Repair: A Decarbonization Accelerator - Blog Circularity in Action: Decarbonization for Refrigerated Transport - Blog Maintain, Prolong, Share: A Circular Blueprint for Decarbonization - Blog