TOWARDS MORE SUSTAINABLE AND SOVEREIGN EUROPEAN DATA CENTERS
The European data center market is entering an unprecedented growth phase, driven by the rise of artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and the ongoing digitalisation of companies. In this global race, currently dominated by the United States, Europe has an opportunity to position itself as a leader in sustainable and sovereign digital infrastructure.
Exponential growth driven by AI and intensive computing
Today, artificial intelligence is everywhere, redefining usage, business models, and industrial value chains. Behind the scenes, another revolution is accelerating: data centers must scale up* and become more efficient to support the massive deployment of AI, intensive computing and the ongoing digitalisation of companies.
The United States, which concentrates nearly 60 % of global data center capacity, dominates the market supported by a favourable financial, energy, and technological ecosystem. According to economist Jason Furman (Harvard), investments in data centers and information-processing technologies accounted for 92 % of U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025.
Europe, a driving force for sovereign and sustainable data centers
Europe is also experiencing rapid growth in data center deployment—about 20 % per year**—which should reach nearly 28 GW by 2030. This increase in capacity is essential to meet the needs of AI, high performance computing, and the outsourcing of IT infrastructure. Digital sovereignty concerns are also encouraging the relocation of data within European borders.
“It is essential to develop data centers in Europe to preserve our digital independence and our sovereignty. We need players like Mistral and the development of the entire digital value chain on European soil.”
“Through its various areas of expertise, Omnes plays a crucial role in deploying data centers in Europe by financing the entire value chain, thereby supporting an essential sector for the continent’s digital sovereignty”
More computing, fewer emissions
As part of its Sustainable City strategy, Omnes supports entrepreneurs developing low-carbon urban real assets. The fund favours developers who master carbon-reduction levers across the entire lifecycle of their infrastructure, from design to operation.
“Today, renewable energy cannot be the sole power source for a data center due to its intermittency. However, advances in battery storage systems should allow a growing share of renewables in data center energy supply;”
Urban data centers offer more varied and often easier to activate decarbonisation levers than those located in isolated areas. Their integration into already built environments enables the rehabilitation or retrofit of existing sites, limiting the artificialisation of new land.
“We are already studying data center projects on previously built sites, for example to revitalise business parks, explains Morgane Honikman, Partner, Sustainable Cities, Omnes.
Sourcing data centers with low-carbon energy
Omnes carefully assesses the energy procurement strategies of the developers it supports. In Europe, data centers have a lower carbon footprint than in the United States thanks to an energy mix dominated by nuclear and renewables.
While it is impossible today to power data centers exclusively with renewables, due to intermittency and the need for continuous supply, advances in batteries and storage will progressively increase the share of renewable energy feeding data centers.
“Energy represents between 20 and 30 % of a data center’s operating costs. Any reduction in consumption generates massive economic gains, illustrating the natural alignment between economic and environmental interests.”
200 twh
Europe’s data center electricity consumption is expected to double by 2030, reaching 200 terawatt-hours ***
* Sources: Knight Frank, Nov. 2024; Bain & Company; IEA; IDC 2023
Datacentre Deployment and Spend Forecast 2H 2023 for historicals
** Sources: Morgan Stanley, McKinsey, Altman Solon, Omnes’ analysis
***Source: Le Shift Project, report published 1/10/2025
First published in Scope Winter 2025