The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure is expected to sharply increase global data centre water demand. Rystad Energy estimates that facilities used 222 billion litres of water for direct cooling in 2025, with annual consumption potentially reaching nearly 644 billion litres by 2030 if water efficiency does not improve.
Efficiency measures could materially reduce that requirement. Rystad’s improved-efficiency scenario lowers projected 2030 consumption to 543 billion litres, while aggressive conservation could limit it to 388 billion litres. These estimates exclude the additional water used to generate electricity for data centres, which in some cases can exceed direct cooling consumption by more than two times.
Cooling technology and location will determine which projects face the greatest constraints. Dry-cooling systems, including the approach proposed for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform, could reduce on-site water use by more than two litres per kilowatt-hour of information technology load, but would require additional electricity. Amazon Web Services reports water consumption ranging from 0.02 litres per kilowatt-hour in Stockholm to 2.85 litres in Jakarta, highlighting the importance of climate and cooling design.
Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta have targeted water-positive operations by 2030, but current regulation generally emphasizes reporting rather than performance requirements. Rystad expects water-stressed regions to represent 34% of direct data centre water consumption by 2030, with Reeves County, Texas, identified among the vulnerable locations.
Industry Impact
For North American oil and gas companies, the data centre buildout reinforces the strategic importance of dependable domestic energy and supporting infrastructure. The United States’ “safe barrel” advantage—secure, established domestic supply—supports broader energy reliability, but it does not resolve the sector’s water constraint; future development will increasingly require coordinated power, cooling, water-management and infrastructure planning.
Sales Strategy
Oilfield service companies with water treatment, recycling, pumping, monitoring, automation, heat-management or infrastructure capabilities should identify data centre projects in water-stressed energy-producing regions. Sales teams should target developers, utilities and engineering contractors with solutions that reduce water intensity, monitor consumption and balance cooling efficiency against electricity requirements.
Two-Sentence Summary
Rystad Energy estimates direct data centre cooling-water consumption could increase from 222 billion litres in 2025 to nearly 644 billion litres annually by 2030 without efficiency improvements. The expansion creates opportunities for energy and service companies that can support reliable power, water treatment, recycling, monitoring and lower-water cooling infrastructure.
Author: phinds