UK-based SME, HoloMem, has developed a pioneering, low-cost and more sustainable holographic data storage (HDS) solution allowing data-centres to expand and meet exponential data storage capacity growth across the global datasphere. The ~5.44bn people using the internet across the globe generate ~2,500 Petabytes(PB) of data/day. By 2025, 181 Zettabytes(ZB) (181m PB) of data (annually) will require storage. That figure is projected to increase 33x, rising to ~2,142ZB by 2035\. Compounding this issue, businesses are buying up data space for back-up data, hospitals need greater capacity to store records, the increased application of AI requires vast amounts of easy-to-access data, and governments seek solutions that enable them to create economic conditions for data-centre market growth alongside Net Zero targets \[BBC,2024\]. Most digital data is stored within vast data warehouses that need to deliver rapid read/write capabilities. Entrenched legacy solutions, such as linear-open-tape (LTOv9), hard disk drives (HDD), and solid-state drives (SDD), are energy-intensive, costly to maintain, and are expensive and resource intensive at scale. ~40% of data-centre running costs are attributed to air-conditioning stabilised thermal environments \[ITPro,2022\] and current energy-intensive solutions don't have the capacity to scale without significant energy infrastructure development. More widely, by 2030, existing data-centres will undermine global emission reduction targets, forming ~8% of total global greenhouse emissions \[International-Energy-Agency,2023\]. 'HoloDrive' uses micro-holograms to store up to 1PB of data upon readily accessible, sustainable and recyclable photopolymer media - a marked shift away from resource-intensive magnetic tape and neodymium-iron-boron used in LTO/HDD/SDD solutions. In addition, HoloDrive requires no active operational cooling, and is a cost-effective, sustainable and high-density storage solution for near term data-centre market growth. This project finalises operational testing and technical adjustments, propelling HoloDrive into the active market, providing an economic and highly disruptive solution to address the issue of exponential datasphere growth.

UK-based SME, HoloMem, aims to develop a pioneering, low-cost holographic data storage (HDS) solution that offers high areal densities and low-energy usage. HoloMem's novel approach will address the need for exponential data storage capacity growth within the global datasphere for archival and cloud storage. Existing data-centres/rooms consume ~2% of worldwide electricity \[AKCP,2022\], growing exponentially towards 8% of total global demand by 2030 \[EnergyInnovationLLP,2022\]. ~40% of data-centre running costs are attributed to air-conditioning to stabilise thermal environments for data storage hardware \[ITPro,2022\]. Current solutions are energy-intensive and don't have the capacity to rapidly scale to market demand without significant infrastructure development (energy production and data-centres). ~3.7bn people use the internet, generating 2,500 Petabytes(PB) of data/day. By 2025, 160 Zettabytes(ZB) (160,000,000 PB) of data will need to be stored annually. This is projected to increase 33x by 2035 to 2,14 ZB. Existing solutions such as linear-open-tape (LTOv9), hard disk drives (HDD) and solid-state drives (SSD) are energy-intensive, costly to maintain, and expensive at scale. HoloMem has created a demonstrable automated prototype that writes/reads data as micro-holograms on photopolymer media. The technology relies on readily-accessible materials, allowing rapid manufacturability/scalability, and requires no active cooling whilst in operation. In this project HoloMem will optimise data storage densities, reduce noise/interference and identify the most efficient combination of laser intensity and exposure length to optimise for low-energy data recording and image clarity. Industrial testing of various photopolymer types will inform on the best selection for HoloMem's applications, whilst considering maximum longevity and recyclability (particularly end-of-life). HoloMem's project differentiates from other attempts to use photorefractive crystals in conjunction with holography because of its use of well-understood multiplex techniques combined with modern photopolymer recording materials and adaptation of well-known film transport techniques. HoloMem addresses the global need for a cost-effective, sustainable and high-density storage solution in the near-term.