Access to power biggest challenge for Europe’s data centres
Image: 123RF
Access to power is considered the biggest challenge for data centre operators over the next three years, the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA) has found.
In its ‘State of European data centres 2025’ report, the association finds that, along with power constraints, other key challenges are regulatory compliance, particularly adhering to EU and national regulations addressing energy efficiency and environmental impact, and ongoing sustainability pressures towards better water management and more comprehensive heat reuse solutions.
Additionally, data centres face lengthy and complex permitting processes and a shortage of skilled technical personnel, with intense competition for talent across industries.
The report details a total of 10,539 data centres in Europe in 2023, of which over 85% are located on premise or enterprise data centres and almost all have a capacity of less than 5MW.
Have you read?
Eaton and Siemens Energy team up to fast-track data centre deployment
E.ON partners on local power generation solutions for data centres
Electrification key for industrial competitiveness finds Eurelectric study
Almost all the rest are colocation data centres, and just 19 are hyperscale, of which 10 are in the 5-49MW range and nine above 50MW.
The report lists key market drivers as increasing digitalisation across sectors, which is driving higher demand for data storage and processing capabilities, the shift towards cloud and edge computing and the rapid development of AI technologies, particularly generative AI, which is driving substantial investments in high-density, high-performance data centres.
With this, existing active centres of growth, such as Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, are now giving way to the Nordics and southern Europe as technologies, infrastructure and demand develop.
Connectivity is also a major factor, as more subsea cables and interconnects come into play, connecting Europe to North America, Africa, and Asia, allowing new sites and services to be brought online.
The report points to sustainability as a central focus for the industry, leading to the adoption of renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies, with over 94% of power coming from on-site or off-site renewable energy sources.
Substantial progress is also evident in energy efficiency (power usage efficiency average in colocation of 1.39), water efficient usage (average 0.31l/kWh) and heat reuse projects, the report adds, stating that compliance with regulations, such as the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive enhances transparency and accountability, reinforcing the sector’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
Under the directive, by 2026, new data centres with an energy capacity of 1MW or more must reuse at least 10% of their heat, increasing to 20% by 2028, or establish contracts to supply heat to district heating networks.
Currently, 31% of colocation and hyperscale data centres, as cited in the report, can provide heat coupling, with 38% investing in such initiatives.
Under the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, a voluntary initiative launched in 2021 by leading data centre operators and cloud providers, there is a commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2030.
The focus is on several key areas, including improving energy efficiency, transitioning to 100% renewable energy, reducing water consumption, promoting a circular economy by reusing and recycling equipment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Commenting on the report, Michael Winterson, Secretary General of the EUDCA, said the digital economies of Europe could not have been built without the foundation of digital infrastructure comprising a network of more than 9,000 data centres.
“To remain competitive globally and to support the continuing wave of technological development and digital transformation, the data centre industry must ensure continued focus on efficiency and sustainability while driving innovation.”
