T-Systems, Deutsche Telekom’s digitalization services division and one of Europe’s leading cloud providers, has been working to improve the energy efficiency of its data center in Cerdanyola del Vallès. Those measures brought its Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) to 1.35 in the first quarter of 2026, one of the best figures in Spain. It sits below the national average of 1.36 and the European average, which various studies put around 1.58.
The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and rising demand for digital services, especially in the cloud, have raised the need for infrastructure that can handle and store large amounts of data. At the same time, cutting energy use has become more important to limit the environmental cost of digitalization.
David Mañas, VP of Cloud and Cybersecurity at T-Systems, says digitalization has become a key driver of the economy, innovation, and social progress, but also brings the challenge of managing the energy it needs responsibly. He notes the company is expanding its infrastructure capacity while keeping its sustainability commitments, and that the PUE improvement is another step toward more efficient digitalization in Spain.
The company also tracks another sustainability metric, WUE, which measures water use relative to energy. Here the average has dropped from 0.0430 liters per kWh in 2025 to 0.0143 liters per kWh in 2026, against a Spanish average of about 0.84 liters per kWh.
T-Systems calculates both its PUE and WUE following the sector’s applicable ISO standards, which allows a standardized read on the energy efficiency and water use of its data centers.
The Cerdanyola data center, also a sustainability leader
The efficiency plan singled out cooling as one of the areas with the biggest impact. The measures include adjusting the set temperature and using water-evaporation cooling, which have cut energy demand and improved chiller performance, especially in hot spells. T-Systems has also added renewable energy, installing 305 solar panels at the data center that are expected to produce about 244,000 kWh a year, helping reduce the emissions tied to running the site.
International initiatives for data center sustainability
T-Systems’ efficiency push lines up with European efforts to cut the environmental impact of data centers. Since July 1, 2023, the company has been part of the Climate-Neutral Data Centers Pact, which targets climate neutrality for these facilities by 2030. And since 2024, the Cerdanyola data center (CRD) has been part of the Code of Conduct for Data Centers on Energy Efficiency.
