Dell Debuts Concept Astro for AI-Efficient Data Centres

With AI reshaping industries, the energy demands of data centres are surging. 

This trend, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts, shows no sign of slowing down, with data centre energy consumption expected to double by 2030.

As a result, immense pressure is being put on already strained power grids and raising operational costs and emissions. 

To curb this problem, Dell Technologies has unveiled Concept Astro — a pioneering AI-powered system designed to optimise workload scheduling based on real-time energy availability, cost and business priorities.

What is Dell’s Concept Astro?

Concept Astro represents Dell’s vision for the future of data centre management. 

At its core, it leverages agentic AI, digital twins and automation to create an adaptive, interconnected AI Factory.

“This capability is exciting but right now just a concept, with our engineers pushing the boundaries of what is possible to deliver at scale,” says Dr Alyson Freeman, Dell’s Innovation Lead for Sustainability and ESG. 

“In this iteration, we’re using digital twins to simulate workloads so we can extract insights and identify ways to use available data centre power more effectively with power grid awareness. 

“Concept Astro builds on the Dell AIOps monitoring suite and features the capabilities offered today through Dell’s AIOps Assistant — including customers being able to ask context-aware questions about their connected infrastructure and receive tailored recommendations based on their current system configuration.”

Why Concept Astro is changing the game

Concept Astro comes at a time where one of the biggest challenges is AI’s growing appetite for energy.

AI workloads are inherently resource-intensive and, unsurprisingly, require vast computational power to operate. With this comes a significant thirst for energy.

With the proliferation of AI-driven applications, it’s no longer optional for data centres to balance the need for performance with the realities of energy scarcity, fluctuating costs and sustainability imperatives. 

Reliable, resilient and affordable energy has become a top priority for operators worldwide.

Alyson adds: “At Dell, we’re helping customers unlock the full potential of enterprise AI while minimising energy consumption and operational costs. 

“We’re pushing ourselves to continually innovate, refine and enhance our offerings to deliver even greater business and societal value.

“What drives us is helping our customers overcome their biggest challenges. With energy-efficient technologies already transforming operations and forward-thinking concepts like AI-powered workload scheduling, we can help enterprises to reduce costs, enhance grid resilience and drive meaningful progress.”

Digital twins simulating workloads

A standout feature of Concept Astro is its use of digital twins.

By creating virtual replicas of data centre operations, Concept Astro is able to simulate workloads and energy flows which, in turn, enables the extraction of insights to maximise the use of available power and adapt dynamically to grid conditions. 

And this technology is already making real-world impact.

To test Concept Astro’s capabilities, Dell partnered with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. 

Scripps processes massive volumes of underwater imagery — coming in at around 350GB per dive, with 300 to 400 dives annually — to create high-resolution 3D models for coral reef research, meaning substantial compute and storage resources is needed.

During the pilot, Concept Astro enabled Scripps to:

• Schedule image processing during optimal energy windows, reducing grid strain
• Achieve 20% cost savings and a 32% reduction in emissions
• Double image processing throughput after upgrading to the Dell AI Factory with Nvidia, powered by next-generation servers.

Megan Carrasco-Beyer, Senior Consultant Global Portfolio Sustainability Marketing Lead at Dell, says: “I am so excited to share the project we've been working on for nearly two years.

“Concept Astro is Dell Technologies’ vision for the future of efficient data centre operations. 

“We worked with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, part of UC San Diego, to pilot this concept and they are already seeing great results.”

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