Accedo and IET launch Ecoflow X for sustainable streaming experimentation

The formation of Ecoflow X marks a shift from theoretical sustainability goals to a standardized, hardware-and-software-agnostic testing ground. By establishing a shared observability framework, the industry can finally move past fragmented reporting toward a unified metric system for energy efficiency. For operators, this provides the technical validation needed to integrate AI-driven energy optimization into live production environments without risking stream stability. Watch for early findings from the project's digital twin simulations to influence upcoming supply-chain procurement standards across European broadcasters.

The launch of Ecoflow X arrives as regulatory pressure on data center energy consumption intensifies globally. Per the International Energy Agency in March 2026, data center electricity demand is projected to grow by 170% in China and 130% in the United States by 2030, driven largely by the electrification of AI and media delivery. This trajectory has led to stricter legislative oversight, including California’s SB 253, which requires large companies to disclose Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions starting in August 2026, according to recent legal updates from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Sector-specific initiatives are also tightening their reporting requirements to meet these new legal mandates. At the 2026 DIMPACT Summit in March, industry leaders highlighted that energy consumption is no longer strictly linked to data volume, but rather to system-level factors like peak demand and service design. This shift in understanding has prompted groups like the Streaming Video Technology Alliance and Greening of Streaming to advocate for the very observability frameworks Ecoflow X aims to build, per Reporting from Broadband TV News in early 2026.

Furthermore, recent research from Futuresource and InterDigital suggests that while device efficiency has improved—with a 17% decline in video device energy use since 2020—the move to 4K streaming presents a remaining challenge, as 4K TV emissions are approximately 1.7 times higher than HD counterparts. Consequently, the industry is increasingly looking toward automated solutions; agentic AI, which moves beyond passive analysis to autonomous system adjustments, is seen as a primary lever for managing these rising energy costs without manual intervention.