Cooling the AI buildout

Power constraints have dominated the conversation around AI infrastructure, but the buildout is facing a broader convergence of execution risks. Cooling, water use, permitting, labour shortages and growing local opposition are emerging as critical factors that could affect where and how quickly new data centres are built.

In this episode of Barclays Brief, Ronnie Wexler, Global Head of Equities Distribution, speaks with Will Thompson, Thematic Investing Research Analyst, about the challenges shaping the next phase of AI infrastructure. They explore why cooling is becoming increasingly important, how water use is emerging as a key consideration in data centre operations, and what these pressures could mean for deployment timelines and market expectations.

They also discuss how hyperscalers are taking different approaches to cooling and water use, highlighting the complexity of balancing efficiency, sustainability and local impacts. Together, these pressures point to execution risks that may not yet be fully reflected in markets.

Listeners can hear more related to this topic:

Clients can read more on Barclays Live:

Important Content Disclosures

Important Non-Research Content Disclosures

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation. Views expressed are those of the speakers and may not reflect those of the firm. Any forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(46)

Nuclear fusion: Tomorrow's solution to today's problem

Nuclear fusion has long been viewed as a transformational energy breakthrough, capable of delivering abundant, zero-carbon at operation energy by recreating the same reaction that powers the sun. Rece...

18 Aug 12min

Japan: Why the world is watching

Little more than a week ago, a rare, coordinated US-Japan intervention to support the yen caught investors’ attention. Coupled with rising expectations of another Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike and Pri...

11 Aug 10min

US equities: Beyond the pullback

After a spring sell-off and renewed summer weakness in technology stocks, uncertainty has remained a defining feature of the investment landscape. During the market sell-off following the start of the...

4 Aug 10min

AI credit supply tests market capacity

The AI buildout is fuelling a wave of new credit supply, and the sheer volume of debt is starting to test the market's capacity to absorb it. Year-to-date, the AI ecosystem has accounted for roughly 2...

28 Jul 9min

Challenging market consensus

Markets can become crowded around consensus views. In this episode of the Barclays Brief, Patrick Coffey is joined by Brian Kuritzky from our Rates Sales team to explore potential investor complacency...

21 Jul 9min

Opportunities in Asian Equities

Investor positioning across Asian equities is shifting, with opportunities increasingly driven by market-specific factors rather than a single regional or thematic narrative.In this episode of Barclay...

7 Jul 9min

Brexit, Burnham and Britain's Next Decade

Ten years after the Brexit referendum, many studies assess the effects on the UK economy as negative, pointing to weaker growth, lower investment and a tighter fiscal backdrop as its legacy. But the f...

30 Jun 10min