The Data Center Rundown: May

27 May 2024

May has been another eventful month in the world of data centers! From significant investments, especially in Spain, to the anticipation of large-scale data center projects, and even a curious encounter with a sloth caught in a server rack, it's been quite the whirlwind.

Let's take a closer look at May's Data Center Rundown.

Top data center news for May

AWS to invest €15.7 billion in Spain

Just a few days ago Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced plans to invest a whopping €15.7bn to expand its cloud infrastructure in Aragón. This investment is expected to support the creation of approximately 17,500 jobs annually in local businesses.

Building on a previous announcement in 2021 to invest €2.5 billion in Spain, AWS’s decision to choose Spain highlights the country’s prominent position in technology innovation and artificial intelligence in Europe.

EdgeCore, Stack Infrastructure and Yondr launch Data Center Safety Council

EdgeCore, Stack Infrastructure and Yondr say the rapid growth of the data center industry necessitates the standardization of best health and safety practices and regulations.

The newly established safety council aims to create a "unified approach" to ensuring the safety and well-being of workers in data centers. This initiative is being facilitated by the consulting firm Antea Group.

Prime unveils plans for 40MW data center in Madrid

Prime Data Centers revealed plans to develop a 26,000 square-meter data center in Madrid, Spain. The company has secured 7.6 acres in Alcobendas with plans to develop a facility that will be able deliver 40 megawatts of critical power.

Prime Madrid will be developed according to customer demand and will address hyperscale cloud and artificial intelligence power density requirements.

Google pours further $1.1 billion in Finnish data center

Google will invest a further 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) into the expansion of its data center campus in Finland to drive its artificial intelligence (AI) business growth in Europe, a Google spokesperson told The Verge.

The investment includes plans to reuse heat from the data center to warm nearby homes, schools, and public buildings.

Plans in for £3bn DC in Lincolnshire, UK

Plans to construct a £3 billion next-generation AI-training data center have been submitted to North Lincolnshire Council. The 3.3 million square foot hyperscale facility is set to be built on land near the A160 in South Killingholme, positioning it as one of Europe’s largest data centers.

The total construction cost will depend on the exact specifications, but it is expected to range from a minimum of £2.2 billion to over £3 billion. If the project is fully developed over a three to four-year period, it is projected to support at least 2,500 to 3,500 construction jobs annually, both on and off-site.

Meta to build $800m data center in Montgomery, Alabama

At the start of the month, Meta announced plans to construct an $800 million data center in Montgomery County. Located off Interstate 65, the AI-optimized facility will cover 715,000 square feet (66,400 square meters).

While additional details have not yet been disclosed, the data center is expected to be operational by the end of 2026. Preliminary site work has already begun in preparation for construction.

Vantage acquires former Ford engine plant in Wales for DC campus

Vantage has acquired a former car engine plant in South Wales which it intends to turn into a data center campus. The operator has bought the 1.3 million sq ft (120,000 sqm) Ford site in Bridgend, which lies to the west of Welsh capital Cardiff.

While Vantage has not disclosed specifics regarding the type of facility that will be established on the former engine plant or provided any timelines for development, the company expressed its commitment to the project to Wales Online.

More UK DC news

More UK DC news this month, as AI cloud provider CoreWeave announces plans to invest £1bn ($1.25bn) in expanding its operations in the UK. The investment will pave the way for the launch of two data centers in the UK by 2024, with additional expansion slated for 2025.

Alongside these developments, CoreWeave has established a London office, set to serve as its European headquarters. However, specific details about the upcoming UK data center are yet to be disclosed.

Europe’s secondary data center markets to reach 273MW of new supply

CBRE shared that secondary European markets are gearing up for a big boost in new data center supply this year, with an estimated 273MW expected. This comes after a record-breaking delivery of 228MW in 2022. These secondary markets include Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Stockholm, Warsaw, Vienna, and Zurich.

CBRE predicts strong growth in data center supply across eight of these markets in 2023. Interestingly, five of them are set to top 100MW of supply, a big jump from just two markets at the end of 2022.

Sloth caught in server rack in Brazilian university data center

Wrapping up this month's data center rundown with an unexpected twist! In Paraíba, Brazil, a sloth was found tangled in the wires of a server rack at a university data center.

According to social media and local reports, the sloth was discovered on May 8th within a rack in the rectory building at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). It seems the sloth may have sought warmth from the IT hardware. Fortunately, a member of the university's security team safely returned the sloth to the nearby forest.... we’re glad it's safe!

Thanks for tuning in to this month's rundown! Be sure to join us again in June for more exciting data center highlights. Can't wait until then? Head over to our resource's hub for a treasure trove of data center insights: https://www.xyzreality.com/resources