Spain is consolidating its position as one of the destinations with the greatest growth potential in the European data centre market, thanks primarily to the availability of renewable energy, its international connectivity and its capacity to develop large-scale projects. This is according to the Iberian Data Center Market report, produced by real estate consultancy CBRE, which describes how data centres have ceased to be specialised infrastructure and have become a strategic asset for the competitiveness of regions.

Iberia, also encompassing neighbouring Portugal, is strengthening its position as the continent’s data centre hub with the greatest growth potential. The main factors driving this new phase in the European data centre market are the acceleration of artificial intelligence, the growth of cloud services and the increasing need for processing capacity.

Advantageous position
The combination of renewable energy, international connectivity and the capacity to develop large-scale projects, which is difficult to replicate in other countries, gives Spain an advantageous position in this new phase, in which it can turn its structural advantages into sustainable growth and consolidate its position as one of the main gateways to Europe’s digital economy. And it has already begun to do so: according to CBRE, the Iberian market has more than quadrupled its capacity since 2019 and has a deliverable potential of 4.5GW of IT capacity over the medium term.

This market evolution has sparked growing investor interest, at a time when operators, developers and funds are increasingly incorporating data centres into their strategies, confident in the role this infrastructure will play in the digital economy in the coming years. According to CBRE, they are now one of the real estate segments that inspires the greatest confidence among European investors.

Increasingly diverse demand
As the sector enters a new phase, execution and the ability to turn potential into operational infrastructure will be key to consolidating Spain’s position as one of Europe’s leading digital hubs. It will do so in an environment with increasingly diverse demand.

Hyperscalers continue to expand steadily, while keeping a watchful eye on the emergence of neoclouds in the market, operators specialising in advanced computing for artificial intelligence, which are already one of the sector’s main growth drivers. According to CBRE, these operators have contracted between 350 and 500MW of capacity in Iberia over the past 12 months, a figure that reflects the impact AI is already having on digital infrastructure needs.

In the Iberia region, Madrid and Barcelona are clear leaders in the data centre market, followed by Lisbon, while the sector’s growth is fostering the emergence of new hubs, supported primarily by their energy availability. Among them, Aragon is one of the most dynamic areas for the development of projects related to artificial intelligence and advanced computing.

^{Photo: CBRE}