What will it take to build the world’s largest data center?
April 07, 2026
Amanda Carter shares challenges that come with the expansion of smarter and larger AI data centers in IEEE Spectrum
The undying thirst for smarter (and historically, larger) artificial intelligence (AI) models and greater adoption of the ones we already have has led to an expansion in data-center construction projects, unparalleled in number and scale. Still, the scale of the largest AI data centers brings unique challenges.
Amanda Carter, senior technical lead, says the thermal conductivity of soil is important, as most electrical infrastructure is placed underground. If the soil has high thermal resistivity, it becomes difficult to release heat efficiently. Engineers may take hundreds or thousands of soil samples before construction can begin..
There’s no shortage of eligible sites, as both the number of data centers under construction and the money spent on them has skyrocketed. The spending has allowed companies building data centers to look for alternatives.
