Veolia is working with Amazon to develop reclaimed water for cooling systems within data centres. The partnership combines Veolia’s water reuse technologies with Amazon AI and cloud capabilities to advance more sustainable strategies for data centre infrastructure.
It supports Amazon’s goal to be more water positive in its direct data centre operations by 2030. Veolia said this aligns with its Green Up strategic programme around resource preservation, pollution control and decarbonisation.
The project is also part of Veolia’s new Data Center Resource 360 offering, which is designed to optimise resource management for next-generation data centres. As a turnkey solution, it’s designed to be an all-in-one offering to support data centres to become carbon-neutral, water-positive, circular hubs.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Amazon to secure its water needs in Mississippi while protecting the local community’s resources – this is environmental security in action,” Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO at Veolia, explained. “By combining Veolia’s water expertise with Amazon’s AI technologies, we’re transforming data centres into engines of innovation for sustainability.”
The news comes as the data centre sector is publicly chastised for its water use. While some in the industry claim this concern is ‘overstated’, others view water management as critical for data centre resilience and efficiency.
Within this context, Veolia is working with Amazon to reduce data centre water use and advance water reuse in the technology giant’s data centre operations in Mississippi. As a result, it hopes to contribute to local water resilience and strengthen Amazon’s water positivity goals.
The first facility is expected to be operational in 2027, which makes it the first Amazon data centre in Mississippi to use reclaimed water for cooling. Veolia said it will deploy autonomous containerised treatment systems that will transform effluent from nearby wastewater treatment plants and other available sources into cooling water that meets the quality standards required for industrial cooling processes.
The project expects to reuse more than 83 million gallons of potable water per year once fully operational – the equivalent of roughly 760 US homes. Veolia added the modular style of its systems enables the solution to be replicated at scale at Amazon facilities worldwide.
Under its broader partnership, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is supporting Veolia to develop AI-enhanced solutions to deliver real-time process optimisation, predictive maintenance and operational intelligence. This will be hosted on Amazon infrastructure and leverage Amazon AI, machine learning and generative AI (Gen AI) technologies.
“Through our collaborative work on AI applied to water treatment, Veolia will be able to further drive innovation and enhance the efficiency of on-site teams – thanks to automated analytics, actionable recommendations, optimised inventory management and streamlined maintenance,” said Will Hewes, Amazon’s global water stewardship lead.
“We’re pleased to join forces with Veolia to advance more sustainable water use strategies while helping it pioneer more efficient water treatment solutions for customers worldwide.”
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