Date: 5 June 2026 The metaverse is a vast 3D virtual universe where people work, play and connect using digital avatars. It has long promised to transform how we live online, but there’s a catch: it’s extremely energy hungry. 3D illustration of an avatar interacting in a virtual environment, representing the immersive digital world often described as the metaverse. Image: iStock/gorodenkoff From virtual-reality headsets to AI systems, cloud servers to blockchain networks, the technologies that power the metaverse come with a heavy carbon footprint. As the world pushes towards net-zero emissions, making the metaverse more energy efficient is a growing priority. With the help of ARC funding, Professor Willy Susilo and his team at the University of Wollongong have established a world-class facility to do just that. The metaverse relies on a string of highly energy-demanding technologies, including virtual reality, AI, big data, cybersecurity, blockchains and more. Professor Susilo says ‘decentralised structures’ such as blockchain are particularly hungry for power but a key problem is that the exact amount of energy consumed by these technologies is difficult to measure. They operate in a sort of ‘black box,’ according to Professor Susilo. Professor Willy Susilo is leading an ARC-funded research team investigating the energy demands of technologies underpinning the metaverse. Photo: Supplied. The new ARC-funded facility allows researchers to measure the exact energy usage of each component, in real time. It’s a critical step in designing smarter, more sustainable digital systems. ‘Suppose that this algorithm is consuming 1,000 watts. Now, I will need to tweak my algorithm to see whether there is anything I can do here. Maybe a swap here and there, so the voltage will be reduced,’ Professor Susilo says. This hands-on ability to experiment and optimise gives developers the tools they need to design energy-efficient algorithms for future metaverse applications. Professor Susilo sees a huge potential for an energy-efficient metaverse in bringing people together across vast distances. He points to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics as an example. ‘People can sit in the Olympic Stadium and have with them an avatar of their brother or sister, who lives somewhere else in Australia and cannot attend in person,’ Professor Susilo says. ‘They should be able to enjoy the Olympics together, right?' That kind of immersive real-time connection could be a game-changer, especially in a country like Australia, where geography often keeps people apart. ‘We may feel close, but we’re actually very far apart,’ Professor Susilo says. ‘And Australia is far from everywhere. This kind of technology could help bridge that gap.’ ‘This is the kind of opportunity we have with this technology. It can allow us to be much closer to our family, relatives and friends, even when we’re far apart.’ By developing technology that is not only immersive but also sustainable, Professor Susilo and his team in partnership with Monash University, Deakin University, The University of Western Australia, and Queensland University of Technology are helping to shape a greener future for the digital world.