Dec 2024

EUROPEAN
DATA CENTE R
OVE R VI EW
 COLOPHON
Coordination
Dutch Data Center Association
France Datacenter

Contribution
Belgian Digital Infrastructure Association
Dutch Data Center Association
France Datacenter
German Datacenter Association
Italian Datacenter Association
Norwegian Data Center Industry
Polish Data Center Association
Swedish Datacenter Industry
techUK

Edition
December 2024

Terms of use and disclaimer

European Data Center Overview (herein: “Report”) presents information
and data that were compiled and/or collected by the coordinators (all
information and data referred herein as “Data”). Data in this Report is
subject to change without notice. Although the coordinators take every
reasonable step to ensure that the Data thus compiled and/or collected is
accurately reflected in this Report, the authors: (i) provide the Data “as is,
as available” and without warranty of any kind, either express or implied,
including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a
particular purpose and noninfringement; (ii) make no representations,
express or implied, as to the accuracy of the Data contained in this Report
or its suitability for any particular purpose; (iii) accept no liability for any use
of the said Data or reliance placed on it, in particular, for any interpretation,
decisions, or actions based on the Data in this Report. Other parties may
have ownership interests in some of the Data contained in this Report. The
authors are in no way represents or warrants that it owns or controls all
rights in all Data, and the authors will not be liable to users for any claims
brought against users by third parties in connection with their use of any
Data. The authors, its employees do not endorse or in any respect warrant
any third-party products or services by virtue of any Data, material, or
content referred to or included in this Report.

2 3
 1
TABLE OF
CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION | 05
The impact of data centers on the
continent’s digital economy

MAP DATA CENTER MARKET | 8

2 ENERGY EFFICIENCY | 10
Priority number one of the industry

EXAMPLES | 13

SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES | 14

3 HEAT REUSE | 15 5 DIGITAL ECONOMY | 25

An opportunity to recover the heat of data Without data centers, no (digital)
centers economy

EXAMPLES | 17 EXAMPLES | 28

4 ENERGY MIX | 18 6 EMPLOYMENT &

Transition is coming EDUCATION | 32
Yes, data centers do create jobs
PPA FOCUS | 20
EXAMPLES | 21 DIVERSITY OF JOBS OFFERED BY
THE INDUSTRY | 33
NUCLEAR POWER | 23
NUMBER OF JOBS IN THE
HYDRAULIC POWER GENERATION | 23 INDUSTRY | 34

SELF-CONSUMPTION | 23 TRAINING AND INSERTION:

A shared and big challenge | 34
ATTENTION TO HYDROGEN | 24
EXAMPLES | 35

4
1 INTRODUCTION
5
INTRODUCTION
THE IMPACT OF DATA CENTERS ON
THE CONTINENT’S DIGITAL ECONOMY

The European data center market is at the center of the transitions

in our society today. With the increasing dependence on digital
services, data centers are the backbone of the continent’s digital
economy. Interconnected through robust networks, these data
hubs facilitate seamless access to the internet, supporting vital
FIRST AND FOREMOST, FLAP-D + TIER 2 MARKETS:
WHAT IS A DATA CENTER? THE LANDSCAPE OF THE DATA CENTER INDUSTRY IN EUROPE
sectors like life sciences, medicine, and banking.

The intricate network of data centers serves as the backbone Europe’s data center landscape is shaped by the prominence of
Demand for digital services continues to increase rapidly. Since
of our online world, ensuring the seamless operation of digital FLAP-D cities (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin) and
2010, the number of internet users worldwide has more than
applications. These industrial infrastructures are purpose-built emerging Tier 2 markets. FLAP-D cities stand as connectivity
doubled, while global internet traffic has expanded 25-fold
to meet the increasing demands of the digital age, operating hubs, attracting major tech players. Their strategic significance
(International Energy Agency, 2023). All the while, innovations,
non-stop, year-round. A disruption in a data center has far- lies in their important role in Europe’s digital economy, serving
such as AI, require advanced computing solutions. To meet this
reaching consequences, affecting critical services like health as digital gateways to global networks and financial centers.
market demand, the European data center hubs have expanded
care, logistics, and banking. Fortunately, such incidents are
with increased data storage, data processing, and computing
rare, thanks to the adoption of cutting-edge innovations in However, the saturation and rising costs of FLAP-D cities have
power.
infrastructure, cooling, power supply, and security. These spurred interest in Tier 2 markets like Madrid and Milan. These
systems are not only advanced but also redundant, equipped emerging hubs offer lower operating costs and growing digital
Additionally, data centers foster collaboration and innovation,
with backup mechanisms to address any potential failures. ecosystems, driving investments and decentralization efforts.
driving technological advancement and economic growth. They
boost ecosystems where startups, enterprises, and research
Data centers come in different forms, from multi-tenant to While FLAP-D cities remain vital, diversifying into Tier 2
institutions come together, fueling the development of innovative
single-tenant facilities. Multi-tenant data centers, also known as markets offers resilience and cost efficiency. It mitigates risks
solutions and creating employment opportunities, both within the
colocation data centers, cater to multiple businesses, offering associated with concentrated infrastructure and enhances
tech sector and beyond.
space rental as their primary service. In contrast, single-tenant regional connectivity, ensuring a robust digital ecosystem
data centers exclusively serve the needs of a single entity, like across Europe.
European data centers play a pivotal role in shaping the continent’s
a bank or government agency, managing their IT infrastructure
digital future. While driving innovation and economic prosperity,
internally. As a result, these facilities are commonly known as
they must navigate challenges such as energy consumption and
corporate/enterprise data centers.
sovereignty to ensure a sustainable and resilient digital ecosystem.

The European Data Center Overview highlights the diversity of

the European data center ecosystem, taking into account the The different types of data centers can be categorized as followed:
added value for our European societies, as well as how data
centers operate across Europe. Additionally, exploring the types
of energy data centers use and the sustainability initiatives data
centers are implementing. As a first of its kind, this report aims
to create a comprehensive overview of the current European data
center market based on the available facts, figures, and examples.
Resulting in a knowledge base on the social, environmental, and
economic value of this European sector.

The European Data Center Overview was created through the

fruitful collaboration of several European data center associations.
We hope you enjoy reading the report and find it useful for the
understanding of the European data center industry.

6 7
Iceland
Helsinki
Oslo

Stockholm

Riga

Edinburgh
Copenhagen

Manchester Hamburg
Dublin

Amsterdam Berlin Poznań Warsaw

DATA CENTER MARKET
London
Dusseldorf
Tier 1 markets Emerging Tier Tier 3 markets
Brussels (FLAPD) 2 markets of interests
Frankfurt Prague Krakow
Luxembourg
Paris

Munich Vienna
Zurich Budapest

Lyon
Milan

Bucharest

Marseille

Sofia
Rome
Barcelona
Istanbul

Madrid

Lisbon
Athens

8 9
 2
ENERGY
EFFICIENCY
PRIORITY NUMBER ONE OF
THE INDUSTRY

To keep digital services and the internet running 24/7, data A FULLY ELECTRIC INDUSTRY
centers operate at all times of the day. As a result, the data Furthermore, the data center sector is fully electrified. The
center sector is an energy-intensive industry; running data sector now runs largely on low-carbon electricity. This makes
centers requires a substantial amount of electricity. The data the data center sector a leader in sustainable innovation,
center sector is fully electrified, with a high number of data both in energy efficiency within data centers and renewable
centers using sustainable energy resources, and working electricity supply.
towards the goal of using 100% carbon-free energy as described
in the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (CNDCP). Electricity is the largest expense for a data center operator.
This electricity is used to run the servers, as well as to cool the
According to the European Commission (2024), the energy servers. Most data centers use air-cooled solutions, which are
consumption of data centers within the Union was 45–65 TWh more energy-intensive. However, increasingly data centers are
in 2022. Due to the enormous growth in data volumes and looking to use immersive cooling and water-cooling techniques,
the rapidly increasing demand for digital processing options as these help reduce energy consumption. These innovations
for innovations such as Generative Artificial Intelligence and will also improve the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratio.
Quantum Computing, this figure is expected to rise further. This ratio describes how efficiently a computer data center uses
Data center operators have succeeded in decoupling absolute energy.
electricity consumption from the growth rates of data volumes
by continuously increasing efficiency: measured in terms of Besides sustainability goals, creating the most energy-efficient
workloads in data centers, performance increased eightfold data center is a part of the business model for operators; saving
between 2010 and 2020 (Borderstep Institut, 2021), but the energy saves costs. Therefore, operators are highly motivated
energy requirement per workload was 12 times lower in 2020 to implement energy-saving solutions. As a result, for the last
than in 2010 (Eco, 2020). 10 years, outsourcing to colocation data centers and the growth
of cloud applications have kept worldwide energy consumption
THE EU’S VISION ON DATA CENTER ENERGY USE stable, despite the exponential rise in internet traffic and data
“The ICT sector is another important sector which receives center workload, as indicated by the IEA (see graph on page 12).
increasing attention. (...) The Union’s Digital Strategy
already highlighted the need for highly energy-efficient and Additionally, migrating old IT infrastructure from in-house
sustainable data centers and calls for transparency measures server rooms to professional data centers and public clouds
for telecommunication operators on their environmental saves energy. Cloud and Hyperscales have a growing share
footprint.” (EED, 2023) and are much more efficient than the traditional IT they are
replacing. The Dutch government exhibited the benefits of
Increasingly, the EU Member States are creating transparency consolidation by going from 64 small data centers to 5 larger
by monitoring the electricity use of data centers. Take a look at data centers. Consequently, the government effectively halved
an overview of the electricity use of data centers per country on its energy consumption.
the next page.

2 ENERGY EFFICIENCY
10 11
 EXAMPLES
ACROSS EUROPE, DATA CENTER OPERATORS ARE IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND LOWERING THE PUE.

Overview of the electricity use of data centers per country (European Commission, 2024*):
Data centers across Europe are looking for ways to operate their data centers as efficiently as possible. Whether it is utilizing new
technologies, deploying residual heat or lowering the PUE. Below are a couple of examples how data centers operators have become
more energy efficient. However, there are many ways of improving energy efficiency

UTILIZING AI TO LOWER ENERGY HEAT REUSE AND BROWNFIELD

CONSUMPTION: APPROACH:
The servers in data centers need to be cooled and there are WINDCLOUD, GERMANY
different techniques to achieve this. Previously engineers Windcloud supplies the data center with 100% physically
needed to analyze the cooling systems and optimize them if genuine green electricity, largely from wind energy. This energy
necessary. Increasingly, data centers are utilizing AI to analyze is used for a second time when the residual heat warms an
the systems, identify inefficiencies, and implement more algae farm on the roof of the data center. These algae bind large
efficient practices; resulting in significant energy savings. amounts of CO2 in the process. As a result, the data center is
not only operated CO2-free, but the algae farm also helps to
INCREASING OPERATING absorb CO2 from the environment.
TEMPERATURES:
Equinix operates across Europe and is committed to reducing Additionally, with their Brownfield approach, Windcloud is
its overall power use by increasing operating temperature utilizing former military buildings and bunkers in Schleswig-
ranges within its data centers. As a part of this new efficiency Holstein to house their data centers. (Windcloud, n.d.)
initiative, Equinix expects to operate its facilities closer to 27°C
(80°F) (Equinix, 2022). EVOLUTION OF THE PUE
In 2017, for the first time, the largest providers in Poland used
USING RENEWABLE ENERGIES: minimum PUE values of 1.5 in their service contracts. In the last
GREEN MOUNTAIN DATA CENTERS (UNDER CONSTRUCTION), few years, the PUE has remained more or less at a similar level.
* The data in the table is from the European Commission unless indicated otherwise
GERMANY This is a result of the recent development of energy-efficient
Norwegian data center company, Green Mountain, has facilities (PMR, 2023).
Global trends in internet traffic, data center workloads and data center energy use, 2010-2020 partnered with energy company, KMW, to establish a new 54
MW data center site in Mainz. The power supply is covered A province in the Netherlands has implemented PUE
by KMW’s renewable energy portfolio. The servers inside the requirements for new data centers. New data centers can have
data center will be cooled using water from the adjacent Rhine a maximum PUE of 1.2 in the Dutch province of North Holland
River. Resulting in a very energy-efficient data center with a PUE (Provincie Noord-Holland, 2023).
below 1,3 (Green Mountain Data Center, 2023).

Evolution of the PUE in Poland (2013-2023)

12 13
 3
SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES

CLIMATE NEUTRAL DATA CENTRE PACT

European data center operators and trade associations have
united in the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact. The pact
wants to ensure that data centers are an integral part of the
sustainable future of Europe. Data center operators and trade
associations agreed to take the following actions to make data
centers climate-neutral by 2030 (CNDCP, 2021):

• Energy Efficiency: Data centers and server rooms in

Europe shall meet a high standard for energy efficiency,
which will be demonstrated through aggressive Power
Usage Effectiveness (PUE) targets. By January 1, 2025,
new data centers operating at full capacity in cool
climates will meet an annual PUE target of 1.3, and 1.4.

• Clean Energy: Data centers will match their electricity • Circular Economy: The reuse, repair, and recycling of
supply through the purchase of clean energy. Data center servers, electrical equipment, and other related electrical
electricity demand will be matched by 75% renewable components is a priority for data center operators. Data
energy or hourly carbon-free energy by December 31, centers will set a high bar for circular economy practices
2025, and 100% by December 31, 2030. and will assess for reuse, repair, or recycling 100% of their
used server equipment
• Water: Data centers at full capacity will meet a high
standard for water conservation, demonstrated through • Circular Energy System: The reuse of data center heat
the application of a location and source-sensitive water presents an opportunity for energy conservation that
usage effectiveness (WUE) target. By January 1, 2025, can fit specific circumstances. Data center operators will
new data centers at full capacity in cool climates that use explore possibilities to interconnect with district heating
potable water will be designed to meet a maximum WUE systems and other heat users to determine if opportunities
of 0.4 L/kWh in areas with water stress to feed captured heat from new data centers into nearby
systems are practical, environmentally sound, and cost-
effective.

14
3 HEAT REUSE
15
HEAT REUSE
AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECOVER THE EXAMPLES
HEAT OF DATA CENTERS ACROSS EUROPE, DATA CENTERS ARE DISTRIBUTING THEIR RESIDUAL HEAT

All the green electricity needed for computing power in data centers FRANCE
is converted almost entirely into heat. With this residual heat, data Equinix used the residual heat from their PA10 data center to heat the pool for
centers can play an important role in the energy transition. the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Additionally, Equinix agreed to provide the heat
for free for the coming 15 years (Equinix, 2023).
Residual heat from data centers is a valuable form of energy that
can be used for deployment in heat districts and other processes that NETHERLANDS
require low to medium temperatures. The residual heat is generated In Groningen, the Netherlands, QTS Data Centers and Bytesnet are collaborating
by the servers in data centers, this heat can be captured and used as with WarmteStad, the utility company for the municipality of Groningen, to
part of the heat source strategy of a new or existing heating network. provide residual heat for a large-scale sustainable district heating project (DDA,
A well-designed heat reuse system can not only improve the energy 2022).
efficiency of a facility, but also reduce the overall energy consumption
and greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional heating and BELGIUM
cooling methods. In Brussels, the Digital Realty data center sends excess generated heat to
warm local households through a new sustainable district heating project in
Residual heat from data centers can be seen as a sustainable low- Zaventem, Belgium. (Digital Realty, n.d.)
temperature heat source of around 28 °C. The current data center
residual heat temperatures are not high enough for many use cases NORWAY
without the addition of systems to further elevate recovered heat In Olso, data center operator Stack Infrastructure and District heating provider
temperature, such as a heat pump. If we compare this with other Hafslund Olso Celsio, have completed a joint project. The data center is providing
low-temperature sources such as aqua and sewer heat, it is notable heat and hot water for up to 5000 Oslo homes (STACK Infrastructure, 2022).
that data center residual heat has a relatively higher temperature. It
is also worth noting that residual heat does not extract any heat from SWEDEN
the environment, such as the sewage system, therefore these systems The atNorth data center in Kista is supplying the Stockholm district heating
are not disturbed. All these forms of low-temperature renewable heat network, Exergi, with its residual heat. Eventually, the residual heat from the
require a heat pump and distribution infrastructure. data center is able to heat 20.000 apartments (Tidningen Energi, 2022).

However, an important condition for the economic feasibility of any GERMANY

heat network is that the heat must be collected relatively close to Data center operator in Southern Germany, JH-Computers, is feeding its residual
the customer. This is mainly due to the construction costs of district heat into the local heating network. In cooperation with the municipality, up
heating networks and crowding in the subsurface. Thus, to successfully to 280 buildings in the town of Stödtlen are heated through a 4.5km district
deploy residual heat, customers must be located in the vicinity. The heating network (JH-Computer, 2023).
implementation of residual heat from data centers is feasible through
proper coordination of spatial planning and requires a different vision UNITED KINGDOM
for the placement of data centers. Either the infrastructure for the Deep Green, a small data center in Devon is providing heat to a public swimming
district heating system has to already be in place, or the infrastructure pool, saving the leisure center thousands of pounds in heating costs (TechUK,
needs to be created by (local) governments. Important to note, 2024).
creating the district heating system is not the sole responsibility of
data centers. ITALY
In Milan, a2a, DBA Group, and Retelit are collaborating to transform the residual
heat from a data center (DC Avalon 3) into thermal energy for 1,250 families.
(Data Center Dynamics, 2024).

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 4
ENERGY MIX
THE TRANSITION IS COMING

Currently, Europe is going through an energy transition, with the electrification of the industry and the development of renewable
energies. As one of the first industries, the data center sector is 100% electrified. Consequently, they are taking the next steps in the
energy transition.

Europe-wide, data centers are spearheading several initiatives to actively contribute to a more sustainable future. For one, data centers
are major investors in renewable electricity supply projects with the procurement of PPAs. Thanks to these investments, government
grants supporting solar and wind energy have become increasingly redundant. In addition to PPAs, data centers also participate in
other initiatives to make their energy consumption more sustainable. For example, implementing hydrogen generators, investing in
self-consumption, and consuming energy generated by hydroplants.

This map summarizes the carbon intensity of the various European countries' electricity mix over the last
12 months. Source: Electricity Maps. Retrieved Nov 2024 from: https://app.electricitymaps.com/map/all

4 ENERGY MIX
19
PPA FOCUS
A Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA for short, is a long-term
agreement to purchase clean energy from a specific asset at
a predetermined price between a renewable developer and a
consumer — generally, a company requiring large amounts
of electricity, such as data center operators. With the PPA,
data centers can ensure their energy security by participating EXAMPLES
directly in the financing of renewable energies and thus PPA & DATACENTERS ACROSS THE CONTINENT
decarbonizing their consumption.

THE IBERIAN EXAMPLE

Data centers, as a part of the IT sector, are a large driver in the The Iberian peninsula, with Spain and Portugal, is less DIGITAL REALTY
PPA module. About 28% of the disclosed contracted volumes dependent on fossil fuels thanks to their high production of Digital Realty has secured its energy supply in Europe by
are contracted by the IT sector, making this sector an important renewable energies. These two countries have seen a huge signing PPA contracts in Germany and Spain. These two 10-
driver in the realization of new renewable energy projects (RE- increase in the share of renewable energies in their electricity year contracts will supply its data centers with 120GWh and
Source, 2024). mix in recent years. In Portugal, over the last year, 88% of 65GWh of electricity per year respectively. Digital Realty’s PPA
electricity production came from renewable sources. In Spain, in Germany will support the establishment of a new 154 MW
the trend is a little less strong, with 64% of electricity production ground-mounted photovoltaic project (Engie Deutschland,
Scheme of an off-site Corporate PPA (the most common) from renewable sources, nuclear (18%) and gas (16%) still play a 2023).
major role in electricity production.
MAINCUBES
Moreover, Spain is an example of the development of renewable In Germany, Maincubes and Stadtwerke Göttingen AG have
energy financing through PPAs. It is mandatory for companies signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a capacity of
that consume large amounts of electricity to source at least 34 megawatts peak (MWp). The PPA agreement has a term of
10% of their consumption via PPAs. In Spain, the majority of ten years and provides for the supply of pure solar power. The
data center companies sign PPA contracts ensuring renewable solar energy comes from plants south of Göttingen (Maincubes,
energy. In 2023, companies like Digital Realty or Equinix signed 2024).
PPAs to develop 225MW in solar in Spain.
T-MOBILE POLAND
EQUINIX T-Mobile Poland has committed to purchasing 400,000 MWh
Since 2021, Equinix has signed a number of Greenfield PPAs of green energy in 2022-2023 which would allow it to fully meet
across Europe. These include 3 wind farms in Finland and 6 its telco and data centers’ energy demand (Swinhoe, 2022).
solar farms in Spain. In total, Equinix has signed up 490MW of
capacity in Europe. MICROSOFT
Microsoft has signed a number of PPAs to procure renewable
GOOGLE energy across Europe. The cloud company is to procure
Google is expanding its portfolio of Greenfield PPAs, with 180.6MW of wind and solar energy in Sweden and Denmark
a contract signed in Ireland for 58MW of solar power, from European Energy. It will procure the output of six wind
following previous contracts signed in Belgium (23.8MW), the and solar sites in Spain from Repsol, with a total capacity of
Netherlands (153MW), Spain, and the UK. In Norway, Google 230MW (Data Center Dynamics, 2024). Additionally, Microsoft
signed a PPA for 160 MW of power from a wind farm in the has signed PPA’s in Ireland, France and the Netherlands.
southwest part of Norway once their DC project is online in
2027 (Google, 2023).

20 21
 NUCLEAR POWER
Countries with a low carbon intensity, such as France, Sweden, and Switzerland, can all attribute this to the use of civil nuclear power.
Over the past 12 months, France, Sweden, and Switzerland have all had at least 30% nuclear power in their electricity mix (and over
60% in the case of France). Nuclear power produces a low-carbon form of electricity, therefore becoming an important part of the
electricity mix for these countries.

Top 10 countries, by disclosed contracted capacity in MW

HYDRAULIC POWER GENERATION
Due to their geography and watersheds, countries like Norway, are able to generate large amounts of hydroelectric power. For
example, Norway produces almost 90% of its electricity from its hydraulic network. 98% of this power comes from renewable sources,
mainly from hydropower (Norwegian Data Center industry, n.d.). Additionally, Austria and Sweden also produce half their electricity
from hydroelectric plants. Portugal is also a major producer of hydroelectricity (30% of its output). As a renewable energy source,
hydropower is more “controllable” than other renewable energies, as it can be called upon as needed.

SELF-CONSUMPTION
In the future, self-consumption may be a solution for data centers to ensure their power consumption. For a data center to generate its
own electricity, data centers will need a lot of space. The roofs of data centers are often filled with HVAC installations, therefore space
needs to be created elsewhere on the property. Today, self-consumption represents only a small percentage of a data center’s total
consumption. Several data center operators in Europe are investing in producing their own energy:

FRANCE
In France, CIV (now Etix Everywhere in Lille) is investing in renewable energy and consuming directly from the energy source. In this
case, installing a 250-kWp photovoltaic farm allows 3% of the overall consumption to be self-produced.

BELGIUM
Google is another example, with its data center in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium. The site includes a solar farm that meets part of the
company’s energy needs. This initiative helps to reduce local demand for electricity on the grid and to reduce tension on the grid. The
solar farm generates enough electricity annually to power the data center’s water treatment facility.

Additionally LCL Belgium has a 3,300-panel park that produces 1.5 megawatts of its own renewable energy. This covers a fifth
of the data center’s consumption on site. In 2023, LCL Wallonia One (Gembloux) commissioned an additional 1,300 solar panels
(LCL, 2024).

Source: PexaQuote, PPA Tracker

22 23
 5
ATTENTION TO HYDROGEN
As part of the drive towards carbon neutrality, data centers are turning their attention to hydrogen. Hydrogen provides a green fuel
(when produced by green electricity) and replaces backup power generators running on fuel.

An example can be found in Groningen in the Netherlands, where NorthC data centers have replaced backup generators with green
hydrogen-powered generators, a first in Europe. Additionally, NorthC’s data center in Eindhoven will have hybrid emergency power
generators. These generators will run on green hydrogen and on gas (NorthC, n.d.).

Hydrogen powered generators

Source: NorthC Datacenters

24
5 DIGITAL ECONOMY
25
 DIGITAL
ECONOMY
WITHOUT DATA CENTERS,
NO (DIGITAL) ECONOMY

Over the past 20 years, digitization has become the main During a time when data is at the center of many processes, a
driver of progress and growth. The digital economy is no strong digital infrastructure is the basis for further innovation,
longer separated from the economy as a whole. Digital security, and sovereignty. In the digital age, this infrastructure is
services are prevalent in all sectors and industry layers. With an absolute precondition for a robust and future-proof society.
the implementation of digitalization, industries, including This is certainly true for European businesses: a strong digital
agriculture, construction, and healthcare, are able to operate infrastructure is essential for the continued competitiveness,
more efficiently and sustainably. innovation, and growth of our combined economies.

26 27
EXAMPLES

‘TO SUCCEED IN THE

Here are some examples of attempts to evaluate the
impacts of data centers on the economy and examples of

BATTLE OF ARTIFICIAL
political support for data centers in Europe.

IMPACT IN THE NETHERLANDS

Since the data center industry and the digital infrastructure INTELLIGENCE, WE MUST HAVE
are intertwined into all layers of our economy, it is difficult to
calculate the sector’s economic impact. The Dutch government COMPUTING CAPABILITIES (...). BUT IF
researched how far-reaching the impact is. Their research
shows that digital infrastructure has a direct contribution of
15,8 billion euros to the Dutch economy. Additionally, there
WE LOSE BASIC CONTROL, WE'RE IN
TROUBLE. BASIC
CONTROL IS
is an indirect contribution of about 8,4 billion euros from the
ecosystem surrounding the Digital Infrastructure. Lastly, the

HAVING DATA CENTERS HERE

Dutch government concludes that the digital infrastructure is
of great importance to the broad prosperity of the Netherlands.
This broader prosperity also includes the contribution of digital
infrastructure to societal interests that are less easily expressed (...) REDOUBLED EFFORTS, FRANCE 2030
in monetary terms, but no less important (Ministerie van
Economische Zaken, 2024). MUST ENABLE US TO SECURE THIS CHAIN.
IMPACT IN NORWAY
According to Menon Economics, data centers contribute twice
will result in an additional £44 billion GVA between 2025-2035
from the construction and operation of data centers (TechUK,
ADDITIONALLY, WE MUST
REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS
as much to value creation compared to traditional power- 2024).
intensive industries measured against energy consumption.
IMPACT IN SPAIN
TO HAVE MUCH STRONGER,
Data centers deliver NOK 1.8 million in value creation effect per
annual GWh, compared to NOK 0.9 million per annual GWh in The Spanish Government has stated, in its 2025 Digital
the traditional power-intensive industry (Norwegian Datacenter Strategy, that data centers represent one key element in 7
Industry, 2024). out of the 10 pillars of the program (Ministerio de Economia
y Empresa, 2021). Data centers active in Spain have estimated
MUCH MORE MASSIVE
The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development
(n.d.) expressed “Data centers in Norway are important to
that their customers represent 5% of Spanish GVA (gross value
add). Examples include major insurance companies, a regional
COMPUTING DATA CENTER
ensure a robust national infrastructure with fast, secure, and
flexible digital services throughout the country”
airline, access to the cloud (including on-ramps to AWS, Azure,
Google and IBM Cloud), the interconnection hub of major
CAPACITIES HERE. ’
banks, the network equipment to connect public R&D facilities,
IMPACT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM and termination equipment of subsea systems.
The primary economic value of data centres is their role
in enabling digital transformation across all sectors of the - PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON
economy. In the UK, on an annual basis, data centers are
contributing £4.7 billion in Gross Value Added to the UK
economy. If the UK can increase data centre capacity above its
recent trend growth rate – from 10% a year to 15% a year – it

28 29
 “EUROPE'S DIGITAL TRANSITION MUST
PROTECT AND EMPOWER CITIZENS,
BUSINESSES, AND SOCIETY AS A WHOLE.
IT HAS TO BE DELIVERED TO PEOPLE SO THAT THEY FEEL THE BENEFITS
OF TECHNOLOGY IN THEIR LIVES. TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN,

EUROPE NEEDS TO HAVE ITS OWN

DIGITAL CAPACITIES – BE IT QUANTUM
COMPUTING, 5G, CYBERSECURITY, OR
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI).
THESE ARE SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGIES WE HAVE
IDENTIFIED AS AREAS FOR STRATEGIC INVESTMENT, FOR
WHICH EU FUNDING CAN DRAW IN NATIONAL AND PRIVATE
SECTOR FUNDS.”
- URSULA VON DER LEYEN, 2020
“WE NEED AI BECAUSE WE WON'T BE
COMPETITIVE IN THE FUTURE WITHOUT IT.

And the fact that such data centers are being built in
Germany is an important sign. ”

- VOLKER WISSING
FEDERAL MINISTER FOR DIGITAL AFFAIRS AND TRANSPORT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

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 6
EMPLOYMENT
& EDUCATION
YES, DATA CENTERS DO CREATE JOBS

DIVERSITY OF JOBS OFFERED BY THE INDUSTRY

Data centers are not only the driver of many occupations in the tech sector, but in order to run 24/7 data centers need highly skilled
staff. Around 80 types of jobs have been identified in a data center, here are some of them (French Ministry of Labor, n.d.):

DESIGNING: BUILDING (CONSTRUCTION

• HVAC engineer (design of cooling
infrastructure) OF THE SITE):
• Digital simulation engineer / BIM • Site Manager
(simulation of air flows, new job) • Project manager electricity
• Energy Manager (improvement (facilities)
of energy performance) • Electrician (facilities)
• Systems & networks engineer • HVAC Technician (Facilities)

NETWORK (DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT/SALES:

AND OPERATION • Site manager (infrastructure
management and operation/
COMPUTER ROOMS): maintenance management)
• Data center planner (organize
• Account Manager / Sales
rooms computer)
Representative
• Network technician (connecting
servers between them and at the
heart of the network)
• Data center technician (install,
implement service, and SUPPORT:
configure the servers) • Security agent (surveillance &
• IT maintenance engineer access control)
(interventions on the servers in • Maintenance agent (routine
the bays) cleaning of the building)
• Cybersecurity manager (new job)

Data centers secure and support the whole digital industry, which represents around 2 million new jobs in the EU (IDC, 2015). In the
Netherlands, the information and communication sector represents 330,000 jobs (CBS, 2023). In France, the digital industry grew by
8% in 2022, which shows interesting outlooks for an industry looking for new talents. The number of employees in the digital sector
represented a total of 572,126 people in 2021 (BIPE sources, Numeum, and ACOSS data), and an additional 34,000 net jobs were
created in 2021 (Numeum, 2022). Many jobs rely on digital infrastructure.

Data centers help in the creation of a digital ecosystem: they attract other innovative tech companies to their proximity, a great example
is Silicon Valley. However this effect is also prevelant in Europe in the FLAP-D areas. A report by the Dutch government concludes

6
that for certain economic activities, very specific, high-quality digital infrastructure is a decisive establishment factor (Ministerie van
Economische Zaken, 2024). It has been estimated that a job in a data center can create 3 other jobs outside the data center.

EMPLOYMENT & EDUCATION

32 33
NUMBER OF JOBS IN THE INDUSTRY EXAMPLES
One European project that is being developed is CEDCE. The European Commission has awarded a grant of four million euros to the
Colleges for European Datacenter Education (CEDCE) project (CEDCE, n.d.). The goal is to create a standardized European Datacenter
Education, in collaboration with educational institutions, trade organizations, and industry players. The Dutch Data Center Association
(DDA), has been involved in the education project and grant application alongside different partners, such as Alfa-college, Google,
and NorthC Datacenters, as well as German and Finnish stakeholders. Vocational tools will be developed in the Netherlands, and
certification will be provided by the association after an exam to get the qualification.

Important to note: the figures above are estimates collected by organizations in each country. Therefore, the metrics may differ.
FRANCE
In France, there is a focus on professional reintegration, with
the initiative ‘Digital plumbers’. France Datacenter is a partner
of a not-for-profit organization to provide training sessions for

TRAINING AND INSERTION: NEETs1 with the goal of allowing young professionals to work in
the data center industry in a short period of time.
A SHARED AND BIG CHALLENGE

SWEDEN
The European economy is changing rapidly due to digitalization. Every day, billions of people use online services in their work and In Sweden, regarding data center educational programs, the
private lives. This is not possible without a strong digital infrastructure. Within this ecosystem data centers, cloud service providers Technical College offers vocational education programs in
and fiber carriers, among others, ensure that everyone can utilize the internet 24/7 and be connected to the world. However, to run the IT, engineering, energy, and urban development, ensuring
European digital infrastructure, qualified personnel is required and it is increasingly difficult to obtain them. alignment with industry needs. The education for data
center technicians has been developed in collaboration with
The shortage of skilled workers in data centers is a shared concern around the EU, but due to 24×7 operations and growing internet industry partners such as Amazon Web Services, Coromatic,
traffic, it’s essential for data centers to have access to qualified personnel to secure our digital economy and prosperity. Stack, EQUINIX, atNorth, and EcoDataCenter. Many of these
companies are also involved in the education management
There is a shortage of many profiles, including those of data center project managers who must combine experience and knowledge group, which works on quality assurance and development
of electrical, connectivity, and refrigeration subjects. In an effort to combat the shortage of skilled workers, the sector is working hard (Teknikhögskolan, n.d.)
to improve education and create a larger influx of new employees.
GERMANY
Data centers play an active role by offering internal training
programs. There are approximately 250 trainees out of a
total workforce of 5,000 employees, plus 40 students in the
dual study program. Additionally, there are also dedicated
educational programs, such as Training as Data Center
Specialist™. The training is aimed at professionals who are
already in the data center industry or want to enter it (DCE
Academy, n.d.).

1
Not in Education, Employment or Training

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