Energy Seminar – MT25 Week 6: Exploring Digitalisation’s Footprint
Yee Van Fan, University of Oxford
- Start Tuesday 18 Nov 2025 5:00pm
- Finish Tuesday 18 Nov 2025 6:15pm
- Venue Diversity Room
- Postcode OX1 3PY
- Register for event
THIS IS AN IN PERSON AND ONLINE EVENT
Summary: Digitalisation is often described as an enabler of sustainability transitions, though concerns about rebound effects remain. To truly support these transitions, however, it must not only foster sustainability elsewhere but also embody it within its own development. This talk explores the future footprint of digital infrastructures, focusing on data centres at the global scale. On the energy side, it projects demand, associated greenhouse gas emissions, and the role of renewable energy. On the material side, it examines resource requirements and circular economy strategies under scenarios driven by different mechanisms. It models how digitalisation may evolve and what this could mean for energy systems, resource use, and climate outcomes. The purpose is not to predict the future, but to prepare for what it may become and to inform strategies.
Speaker: Yee Van has a multidisciplinary background with a BSc in Industrial Chemistry, an MSc in Bioprocess Engineering, and a PhD in Design and Process Engineering. She previously worked at the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory in the Czech Republic, where her research focused on material recovery and clean energy through sustainability analysis, optimisation, and scenario modelling. She is now a Researcher on the EU-funded CircEUlar project at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, investigating how digitalisation can enable dematerialisation and supply chain circularity. She also serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Cleaner Production and Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy.