Research
Independent, peer-reviewed research on the questions that shape how digital infrastructure is built and governed.
Research areas
Energy and affordability
How does large-scale compute affect grids, electricity prices, infrastructure investment, and ratepayers?
Water and environment
How should water use, watershed conditions, cooling technologies, and disclosure be evaluated?
Communities and economic development
Who benefits, who bears the costs, and what counts as meaningful community benefit?
Workforce and opportunity
What skills and pathways are needed, and who has access to the jobs created?
Policy and governance
How do permitting, utility regulation, incentives, siting, and taxation affect outcomes?
Resilience and security
How should societies treat digital infrastructure as critical infrastructure?
Flagship programs
Digital Infrastructure Living Lab
UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station. Phase 1: rack-scale liquid cooling, physical digital twins, and solar. Phase 2: heat reuse, agricultural connections, and Green AI. Developed with the National University of Singapore.
Digital Infrastructure Policy
What policy developments are underway worldwide, what are their effects at local, regional, and national levels, and what are the best practices?
Community Engagement and Consultation
The environmental and community impacts of facilities from large AI campuses to small modular sites, and the practices that give communities a real voice.
How research moves into practice
Partner universities are funded to study questions such as water use and community impact across several markets. Findings become curriculum, inform model policy frameworks, are explained to communities and journalists, and are then tested by industry and governments. The Institute evaluates the results independently.
Publications and data
Every publication lists its funders and any industry input.
Sample listing| Title | Type | Funded by | Industry input |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Publication title] | Peer-reviewed article | [Funder] | Data provided by [company] |
| [Policy brief title] | Policy brief | [Funder] | None |
| [Dataset name] | Open dataset | [Funder] | [None or list] |
Annual State of Digital Infrastructure report. A yearly synthesis of research, global comparative data, and policy developments.