Amazon Web Services (AWS) has begun using low-carbon concrete in the construction of new data centers in Japan.
The company is currently planning expansions of its facilities in Tokyo and Osaka and has committed to investing 2.26 trillion yen ($15.24bn) in expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in Japan by 2027.
The tech giant has now partnered with three firms for the use of low-carbon concrete in future Japanese projects.
The first partnership with Takenaka Corporation will see the use of ECM concrete, which replaces 60 to 70 percent of the cement with blast furnace slag, a by-product of steel manufacturing.
AWS is also working with Shimizu Corporation to use biochar, which stores carbon when mixed into concrete. The material is created by carbonizing waste materials at high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment.
Biochar has previously been used by Google across projects in India and the US.
The company has also worked with Obayashi Corporation to introduce Cleancrete into data center construction in Japan. Cleancrete has approximately 70 percent less carbon by volume than industry-standard concrete. It is poured within 30 centimeters of the surface and finished with regular concrete to avoid interaction with the atmosphere.
Akihiko Shirahata, president and CEO of AWS Japan, said: “Over the past decade, AWS has been investing in the expansion of cloud infrastructure in Japan, with a focus on sustainability to support Japan’s digital transformation using cloud and AI. Specifically, we are focusing on providing a more sustainable cloud to our Japanese customers, such as improving energy efficiency in cloud infrastructure operations, adopting advanced cooling technologies, using low-carbon concrete in construction, and investing in renewable energy.
“Reducing embodied carbon in data center construction is an extremely complex challenge, but we are proud to be able to contribute, however small, to accelerating the decarbonization of concrete in Japan.”
The number of AWS data centers built using low-carbon concrete has been steadily increasing, from 16 in 2022 to 36 in 2023. In January last year, the company said its data centers worldwide would use 35 percent less embodied carbon than the industry standard.
The company has made several moves to improve sustainability and achieve net zero carbon by 2040, including signing two PPAs in Japan at the end of last month.
Last August, the firm signed a PPA with Eneos Renewable Energy for energy from a 9.5MW solar project in Kudamatsu City, Yamaguchi, Japan. Eneos is expected to start operations at the site by November 2025.
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Amazon is the country’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy, supporting more than 20 solar projects.
In Japan, the government has recently announced plans to encourage data centers and semiconductor factories to locate near low-carbon energy hubs. The plan is currently up for public comment.
