Science & technology | Mean and green

Can computing clean up its act?

The industry consumes as much electricity as Britain—and rising

A tree growing out of a green circuit board, with the circuit making up its trunk and branches
Image: Daniel Zender
|Helsinki

“What you notice first is how silent it is,” says Kimmo Koski, the boss of the Finnish IT Centre for Science. Dr Koski is describing LUMI—Finnish for “snow”—the most powerful supercomputer in Europe, which sits 250km south of the Arctic Circle in the town of Kajaani in Finland.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Mean and green”

From the August 19th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Science & technology

People attend the Museum of the Future in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

How the Gulf’s rulers want to harness the power of science

A stronger R&D base, they hope, will transform their countries’ economies. Will their plan work?

illustration of a glowing hand and a syringe meeting at the center, surrounded by floating pills and capsules

Cancer vaccines are showing promise at last

Trials are under way against skin, brain and lung tumours


 A panoramic view of the area of the province of Oristano hit by the vast fire that went on for almost a week.

New firefighting tech is being trialled in Sardinia’s ancient forests

It could sniff out blazes long before they spread out of control


Can Jeff Bezos match Elon Musk in space?

After 25 years, Blue Origin finally heads to orbit, and hopes to become a contender in the private space race

Why some doctors are reassessing hypnosis

There is growing evidence that it can help with pain, depression and more