Where is Europe's Largest Data Center?
Europe is experiencing a data center boom, with the past year witnessing record demand. Leading European markets (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin) saw a total of 114 MW of capacity taken up in the second quarter of 2023 alone. This is approximately equivalent to the maximum power consumption of three Estonian cities the size of Pärnu, considering both residents and businesses.
The largest data center in the Baltic States. Photo: Tõnu Tunnel.
As of November 2022, there are over 1,200 data centers across Europe, covering a total area of 8.3 million square meters and a power capacity of 8,300 MW. The market is dominated by US companies, with Equinix operating 83 sites across Europe and Lumen Technologies having 56 facilities. Germany and the United Kingdom lead in terms of the number of data centers, each hosting well over 400. Closer to us, Finland has 34 centers, Latvia 22, and Lithuania 17 (data as of October 2022). But where are the largest ones located?
Area: 14,500 m²
Location: Hüüru, Estonia
Operator: Greenergy Data Centers
Estonia's (and the rest of the Baltics') largest data center, located near Tallinn in Hüüru, is one of the most secure, reliable, and energy-efficient in the region. The facility, running on green energy, can accommodate equipment equivalent to two football fields, and its electrical connections could power an average Estonian city. The first completed building covers an area of 14,500 square meters, and the complex can be expanded with two more similar buildings.
Area: 15,000 m²
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Operator: Telia
Operating in the Nordics and Estonia, Telia's Helsinki facility provides data center, cloud, and infrastructure services to both Finnish and international companies and organizations. It offers nearly 15,000 square meters of floor space. This eco-friendly data center boasts 24 MW of IT power.
Area: 21,000 m²
Location: Slough, United Kingdom
Operator: Equinix
As mentioned earlier, Equinix has the most data centers in Europe, but none of them make it to the top five in terms of size. The largest, LD5, located about an hour's drive from London in Slough, accounts for approximately a quarter of the total size of all Equinix data centers in Europe.
Area: 27,000 m²
Location: Luleå, Sweden
Operator: Facebook
Opened in 2013, Facebook's 27,000 square meter facility in Swedish Lapland, Luleå, operates efficiently on hydroelectric power. The entire top floor serves as a cooling system, taking in external air, filtering, cooling, and redistributing it to lower floors. The heat generated in the data hall is used to warm incoming air to a suitable temperature during colder weather, which is then used again for server cooling. This was Facebook's first data center outside the USA.
Microsoft's Dublin Data Center
Area: 50,000 m²
Location: Clondalkin, Ireland
Operator: Microsoft
When Microsoft's Dublin data center, costing $500 million (€451.3 million) and covering over 50,000 square meters, was initiated in 2009, it was one of the first examples of a facility of this scale capable of cooling thousands of servers almost entirely with external air. It was Microsoft's first data center outside the United States and has been expanded multiple times since to meet demand.
Area: 52,000 m²
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
Operator: NTT
Located in Frankfurt, the financial capital of Germany for obvious reasons, Frankfurt 1 is the country's largest data center. It offers over 52,000 square meters of "IT space" spread across seven separate buildings. Given Frankfurt's leadership in the German data center market and NTT's role as a leading provider, Frankfurt 1 (and its successors) was created to offer additional space for clients. NTT Data, the owner of the data center, is an international IT services and consulting company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
Area: at least 55,000 m²
Location: Odense, Denmark
Operator: Meta
Rumors of Facebook constructing a data center in Denmark started circulating in 2016, reported by Data Center Dynamics. It was officially announced a year later, and the first 55,000-square-meter facility went live in 2019. A year later, the company announced an expansion of 30,000 square meters. At the time, Facebook stated that the expansion meant an investment of over 13 billion Danish kroner (over €1.7 billion) in the Odense data center.
In December 2021, there was talk of further expansion, with Meta planning to build two more buildings in the "data campus," bringing the total floor space to nearly 200,000 square meters.
A year later, however, Meta reshuffled its plans, abandoning the grand expansion plan, reported Data Center Dynamics in December 2022. Reportedly, the cables were already laid, and plans in place, when Meta canceled the contract with the construction company. Whether the first, 30,000-square-meter expansion was already completed by then is unclear, but it's certain that the Odense data center deserves mention for its original 55,000 square meters.
It's also worth noting that the center is connected to the local heating network, allowing heat generated by the servers to be used for heating homes in the surrounding area. We've previously written in our blog about how heat generated in data centers can be utilized.
Vantage Cardiff Data Center Campus, CWL1
Area: 70,000 m²
Location: Newport, Wales
Operator: Vantage Data Centers
Among the largest is the European flagship of the US company Vantage Data Centers. Besides North America, Vantage has data centers in Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa, and even Poland, but the most notable in Europe is the approximately 70,000 square meter, three-story building in Wales, UK. It is designed to house nearly 35,000 square meters of technical space and 19,000 server cabinets.
But that's not all – the data center in Wales is part of a "campus" of more than 186,000 square meters, comprising three fully developed data centers, two of which were operational as of autumn 2023. The campus is designed to exceed Tier III standards and meet the demand of clients from various regions of the world.
Area: 75,000 m²
Location: Covilhã, Portugal
Operator: Altice Portugal (formerly Portugal Telecom)
Taking the top spot is Covilhã Data Center, owned by Portugal's largest telecom company. It's internationally recognized for its architecture, design, and innovation. Of course, its size is also notable – nearly 75,000 square meters. The location in central Portugal, in the Castelo Branco region, was chosen considering environmental conditions. It's one of the coolest areas in Portugal.
Factors such as seismic activity, humidity, flood risk, and low salinity were also monitored. High salinity regions can have air containing more salt particles, which can be corrosive and shorten the lifespan of electronics, such as servers and other IT devices.
The Covilhã data center stands out not only for its size but also for its eco-friendliness. The center features a rainwater collection system, a garden with over 600 trees, and on-site solar energy production.
Last year, there were reports in the media that the telecom company was trying to sell its largest data center for €100 million.
All in all the European data center industry is rapidly expanding, as evidenced by the record demand and significant growth in the sector. Given the sector's swift development and ongoing projects, it's plausible that a new list compiled next year could feature a different set of leading data centers, reflecting the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of the European data center market.
This article was compiled from information publicly available on the internet.