The data centers that will be "built" on Greek soil

 

The data centers that will be "built" on Greek soil

- March 07, 2025

Currently, data centers operate at levels below 30 MW, while based on announcements so far, the total power in the next decade will reach 300 MW.

07/03/2025

The year of Greek data centers is expected to be 2025, as in addition to the investments that are currently underway, it is expected to be clarified what will happen with the investments that have been announced for years, but are not being implemented!

Based on the announcements so far, the total power of data centers planned in Greece within the next decade will reach 300 MW. Given that currently existing data centers operate at levels below 30 MW, the "leap" will be huge! However, there are many who wonder whether all these investments will ultimately proceed, pointing out that the landscape for data centers that will be "built" on Greek soil will become clearer within 2025.

At the same time, international analysts estimate that over a five-year horizon, around 1.2 billion euros will be invested in Greece for the development of data centers, with investments in this sector increasing at an annual rate of 8.8% until 2028.

The start of work on the first (of three) Microsoft data center in Eastern Attica, an investment totaling 977 million euros, which seemed to have stalled, signals that the goal of making Greece a data processing and transfer center seems feasible.

The question remains as to how the investment plan of the other technology giant, Google, will be implemented, which in the fall of 2022 announced that it would invest in the creation of data centers in Greece, but since then there has been no significant development.

The truth is that Google people had not determined whether they would build data centers themselves or use third-party infrastructure. Industry sources report that the second solution will ultimately be preferred and Google's infrastructure will be hosted in the data centers that Gemini, a joint venture between IPTO and Serverfarm, which holds a leading position in the global data center market, plans to create in Attica. After all, the name of the joint venture (Gemini) is the same as that of Google's artificial intelligence (AI) platform. In fact, Gemini intends to build data centers with a total capacity of up to 130 MW!

The fact that these investments are also intended for Attica raises questions regarding the adequacy of the energy required for the operation of the new data centers. This question will soon be answered by relevant studies by IPTO and DEDDIE, which are being prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Governance, with the aim of drawing up a safe map for the location of the data centers.

The investments that are progressing

Among the investments that are progressing are those of Digital Realty, which is building its fourth data center in Koropi (Athens-4), while Athens-3 recently began operating. Information indicates that Athens-3 will also host the local zone announced by Amazon Web Services (AWS), which will be activated by June. Also, in April, the inauguration of the first data center of the American giant in Heraklion, Crete (HER1) is scheduled.

At the same time, Lancom appears to be particularly dynamic, proceeding with the expansion of Balkan Gate in Thessaloniki, while simultaneously constructing a new data center in Heraklion, Crete.

The new players

The new players that appeared in Greece in 2024 are also particularly dynamic. The French Data4 has begun construction of the first data center in Spata, which, according to information, will be used for the data center region that Microsoft is preparing. It is noted that Microsoft has announced that it will create three data centers, while construction of the first has begun. The second will be hosted at Data4's facilities and the third, most likely, will be built on a new plot of land. Data4 Group is active in addition to France in Italy, Spain, Poland and Germany. It entered the Greek market quietly and has promised to invest around 300 million euros in 3 data centers.

Another new player is Apto, which implements data centers exclusively for hyperscalers, i.e. companies with large cloud infrastructures, such as Microsoft, AWS, Google and Oracle. Apto will create its own infrastructure in Eastern Attica, an investment of 300 million euros.

PPC will also make investments in data centers, which is also entering this market with a 25 MW data center in Spata, in collaboration with DAMAC from the United Arab Emirates.

Western Macedonia

As for PPC, information indicates that it is preparing a large investment in Western Macedonia, which is attracting the interest of other digital investments. Moreover, large renewable energy units are already being created in Western Macedonia, which constitute a "guarantee" for the uninterrupted operation of data centers. One of the important "players" that chooses Western Macedonia to create a data center is Eunice, a sign that this particular region is expected to play a leading role in this market.

tanea.gr