ABOUT
BACKGROUND
Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/424 on the Ecodesign requirements for servers and data storage products sets compulsory requirements on the energy efficiency (such as minimum efficiency of the internal power supply unit or minimum active state efficiency for servers), the material efficiency (such as the disassembly of certain components) of servers and data storage products and information requirements, inter alia, on the operating conditions class/temperature. As per Article 8 of Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2019/424, the Commission shall assess this Regulation and shall present the results of this assessment, including, if appropriate, a draft revision proposal, to the Consultation Forum. This study will review the requirements in the light of the technological progress.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of the review study is to support the Commission with technical expertise for the assessment of the Regulation 2019/424, update the existing review study in support of Regulation 2019/424 and help drafting the working documents on the revised Ecodesign Regulation for servers and data storage products.
DG GROW has contracted with ICF to deliver the review study on behalf of the Commission.
METHODOLOGY
The study is structured in two main phases, which cover all the points where technical and economic input is necessary for reviewing the Regulation.
Phase 1 – Technical analysis
ICF is supporting the Commission with technical expertise for the assessment of the items (a-i) listed in Article 8 of Regulation 2019/424 (ecodesign of servers and data storage products), and analysis of further items as derived from stakeholder feedback:
j) on material efficiency aspects:
- the provisions on disassembly of certain components, also considering advancements in standards (mandate M/543) since the publication of the regulation;
- an analysis of the benefits of the information requirements under Regulation 2019/424 already covering cobalt in the batteries and eodymium in the hard disks;
k) analysis of the benefits of the information requirements under Regulation 2019/424 on the operating conditions of servers and data storage products;
l) an analysis of the standards, and of their relevance for regulatory purposes, developed/under development under the standardisation request M/573, ‘Commission implementing decision C(2021)14 of 12.1.2021 on a standardisation request to the European standardisation organisations in support of Regulation (EU) 2019/424 as regards ecodesign requirements for servers and data storage products
m) Technological, market and regulatory evolutions affecting the environmental performance/aspects of data centres, and how they would reflect at product specific level, for servers and data storage products;
n) The technical and economic feasibility and relevance of product specific requirements on liquid cooling systems/solutions
o) The technical and economic feasibility and relevance of product specific requirements on waste heat recovery systems/solutions
p) The technical and economic feasibility and relevance of product specific requirements on the standby-readiness of servers (for instance allowing to move to and from idle mode in a fast and seamless manner), if not covered by the analysis on the Jrocessor Jower Management Function
q) The technical and economic feasibility and relevance of product specific requirements on DC (direct current) power supply for servers
r) The technical and economic feasibility and relevance of product specific requirements related to:
- the availability of information (temperature, (fan) speed, etc..) for open data exchange about the input/output air flow data of the server/data storage product, and/or
- the capability to enable external overriding of the internal fan speed control, in view of potential synchronisation of the product cooling system with the data center cooling system.
s) The technical and economic feasibility and relevance of introducing an energy label for servers and data storage products, including a label and a detailed product information sheet comprising targeted indicators for the different possible uses of the product (e.g. as webserver, disk server, database server, file/disk server, etc.)
t) Other topics, as emerged from consultations with stakeholders.
Phase 2: Update of the review study for the server and data storage Regulation
ICF will update the existing review study for the server and data storage Regulation, by gathering a fresh understanding of the market for these products in the EU, as well as of the technical solutions, of the functional parameters and of the user behaviour.
The study follows the lifecycle Methodology for the Ecodesign of Energy related Products (MEErP) and its latest revision which is expected to be delivered in early 2023.
Specific efforts/modelling solutions will be sought for the modelling of the effects stemming from material efficiency requirements.
MEETINGS
Two stakeholder meetings are envisaged under this study as well as the Consultation Forum:
- The first stakeholder meeting took place on 29 March 2023. The slides from the meeting can be viewed on the documents page.
- The second stakeholder meeting is scheduled for 28 September 2023 14.30-17.00 (CET) and will be facilitated via Microsoft Teams. Registration details will follow.
- The Consultation Forum is indicatively planned for March 2024 in Brussels.