EU’s data centre expansion will fast-track profits and power for US Big Tech and investors

The global competition to ‘win’ the AI-race is driving an unparalleled expansion of large-scale data centres across the world. Cloaked in a narrative of pursuing European tech sovereignty and adopting AI widely and rapidly, the EU is now proposing to fast-track data centre development across the region in what appears to be a gift to mostly US companies and investors. Unless the plans are changed, the EU is set to entrench Big Tech’s power and enrich mostly US-based private equity firms and asset managers at the expense of its own autonomy, energy prices, and democracy.

The EU wants data centre acceleration zones in all Member States

In June, the European Commission announced its European Tech Sovereignty Package(opens in new window) , a set of proposals and guidelines meant to strengthen the EU’s digital autonomy and resilience. The package is meant to respond to the immense concentration of power in the hands of US Big Tech companies and their alignment with the increasingly hostile Trump administration. At the heart of the package is the ambition to transform Europe into an ‘AI Continent’, positioning the EU as a global leader in AI while embedding these technologies across key sectors of the economy.

One of the key proposals is the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA)(opens in new window) , under which the EU Commission sets out to triple the EU’s data centre capacity within the next five to seven years. This is to be achieved with the creation of “data centre acceleration zones” in all Member States, where data centre construction would be fast-tracked, bypassing regulatory barriers such as environmental assessment, land permitting, and community consultations.

The Commission argues that a rapid expansion of data centre infrastructure is necessary to tackle a supposed shortage of data centres in Europe, especially at a time when EU policy-makers want to boost the development and deployment of AI. However, the assumption that Europe faces an imminent shortage of data centre capacity remains contested. Research by the Dutch think-tank Leitmotiv(opens in new window) found that data centres in the Netherlands are only using around one-third of what they have reserved on the energy grid. The researchers expect similar levels of underutilisation in other EU countries.

The data centre market is exceptionally opaque. This secrecy is not an accident but has been intentionally built into it. Investigate Europe(opens in new window) , for example, reported that Microsoft successfully lobbied the EU to classify key data centres’ information as confidential, while news reports have exposed how companies like Meta(opens in new window) hide their identities while building and operating data centres.

The debate over data centre acceleration zones extends beyond digital infrastructure. It puts into question public participation, environmental oversight, and whether the EU’s drive to pursue tech sovereignty and become an AI leader is being used to justify the rapid expansion of energy-intensive infrastructure without sufficient evidence of need.

This lack of transparency adds to the fundamental question about the data centre acceleration zones: who are the main data centre operators that will actually benefit from the rapid expansion of this infrastructure?

Who will benefit from the EU’s data centre expansion?

A large part of European data centre capacity is already in the hands of US Big Tech firms. The Commission itself says(opens in new window) that “[d]ue to their comparatively higher scale and financing advantages, the ongoing expansion of data centre capacity in the EU is driven by non-European CSPs [Cloud Service Providers]”.

This creates a tension at the heart of the European Tech Sovereignty Package. While it is meant to increase autonomy and boost innovation in Europe to counter the dependency on US Big Tech firms, it does not prevent those same companies from benefiting from the fast-tracked expansion process.

One logical response to this would be to simply prevent US Big Tech such as Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft from owning data centres in the acceleration zones. However, they are not only major owners and operators of data centres in the EU, they are also the biggest customers renting data centre capacity from co-location companies – companies that build and operate data centres and lease capacity to third parties. Consequently, even where new facilities are not owned by Big Tech, they may still ultimately use a substantial share of the capacity.

According to the Commission’s impact assessment(opens in new window) , data centre operators of new co-location facilities often lease capacity to Big Tech “to obtain a quicker return on investment”. A report from the consultancy McKinsey(opens in new window) projects that by 2028, Big Tech firms are expected to account for 65 per cent of the data centre demand in Europe.

Co-location operators working with Big Tech are likely to be among the biggest winners of the proposed data centre acceleration zones – standing to gain(opens in new window) between 8 and 27 billion euros from this expansion.

US Big Tech and co-location firms dominate new data centre development in the EU

Based on data from the market intelligence firm Arizton, SOMO analysed the companies with the highest number of upcoming data centres in Europe. We found that this list was dominated by US Big Tech companies and co-location companies.

A deeper look at the five co-location companies with at least five upcoming projects, raises critical questions about whether the CADA’s promise of European digital sovereignty may, in practice, create an illusion of sovereignty: a European data centre build-out that remains heavily dependent on global capital, ownership, and hyperscaler demand . In practice, the proposed build-out risks reinforcing existing dependencies rather than reducing them.

Of the five co-location companies analysed, three are headquartered in the US. Yet even the two European firms – the Spanish Merlin Properties and the French DATA4 – are deeply intertwined with US-linked asset management and private equity firms . In fact, BlackRock is one of the top shareholders in three of the five companies (Digital Realty, Equinix, and Merlin Properties). Also noteworthy is that DATA4, despite being presented as a French company, is fully owned by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, a company registered in Bermuda, a well-known tax haven(opens in new window) .

To understand how these companies are shaping and operating Europe’s digital infrastructure, we need to understand each operator.

Digital Realty

Digital Realty is one of the world’s largest co-location companies, operating 310 data centres, 113 of which are in Europe. Digital Realty first entered Europe in 2019 through its acquisition of the Dutch data centre operator InterXion(opens in new window) . It has continued its expansion via new constructions and investments, as well as taking over other companies. In 2026, it announced acquisitions in Bulgaria(opens in new window) and Portugal(opens in new window) .

Its growth strategy remains closely tied to large, US-based institutional investors. In 2024, Digital Realty created a joint venture (opens in new window) with Blackstone, self-described as the world’s largest alternative asset manager, to build data centre campuses in, among other locations, Germany and France.

Although Digital Realty operates extensive infrastructure across Europe, ownership of the company is overwhelmingly concentrated in the US. Its largest shareholders are the Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and Cohen & Steers, all US investment managers. In fact, over three-quarters of Digital Realty’s shares are held by US companies .

Digital Realty’s 2025 annual report discloses its top twenty biggest customers, including Oracle, IBM, Microsoft’s LinkedIn, and Meta. While Amazon is not listed among Digital Reality’s largest disclosed clients, in 2022, Amazon disclosed(opens in new window) that it had property partnerships with Digital Realty.

Digital Realty’s top twenty customers by revenue, 2025

In June 2026, Digital Realty’s Chief Datacenter Technology and Engineering Officer, who presides the European Data Centre Association, said(opens in new window) that the EU’s goal to triple data centre capacity could not be met by renewable or nuclear energy and called on the EU to prioritise AI over the climate transition and power data centres with fossil fuels if necessary.

Interestingly, despite industry and policymakers’ claims of looming capacity shortages, Digital Realty shows(opens in new window) that many of its EU facilities remain significantly underutilised. Average occupancy stands at 69 per cent, with some data centres using as little as 6.1 per cent of capacity.

It provides a clear example of the dynamics underpinning the EU’s data centre build-out: underutilised infrastructure located in Europe, financed largely by US investors, and heavily dependent on demand from US tech companies.

CyrusOne

CyrusOne is a US-based data centre company that owns and operates(opens in new window) more than sixty data centres, thirteen of which are in the EU, including projects that are in development. In March 2022, it was acquired(opens in new window) by KKR and Global Infrastructure Management, which has since been acquired by BlackRock. As a result, CyrusOne is ultimately controlled by two of the world’s largest investment firms: KKR and BlackRock. Both are based in the US.

CyrusOne entered the European market in 2018 by buying(opens in new window) up Zenium Data Centres, giving it access to major data centre markets in London and Frankfurt. Since then, it has continued its expansion in Frankfurt through its largest data centre project yet, developed in partnership with E.ON(opens in new window) , Europe’s largest operator of energy grids(opens in new window) .

Like many co-location operators, CyrusOne provides limited information about its customer base. However, one of CyrusOne’s contractors at its Paris data centre has disclosed(opens in new window) that Amazon rents the Paris project’s Phase 1. Prior to its acquisition in 2022, CyrusOne also disclosed(opens in new window) that Microsoft was one of its major customers.

CyrusOne presents itself as helping meet public demand for digital infrastructure, claiming(opens in new window) people in Europe have favourable attitudes towards data centres. Yet, its expansion has not been without controversy. In Paris, local groups have challenged(opens in new window) its project, arguing that it was split into multiple stages to avoid a comprehensive environmental assessment. Although the district court ruled in favour of CyrusOne, campaigners are now planning(opens in new window) to continue resisting the project.

Equinix

Alongside Digital Realty, Equinix is another of the world’s largest co-location companies , operating(opens in new window) 281 data centres worldwide. Equinix is a US-incorporated public company, whose major shareholders include Vanguard and BlackRock, large US asset management firms.

Responding to SOMO’s request for comment, Equinix clarified that, in fact, it has 12 data centre projects announced or under construction in the EU, double what had been collected by Arizton. Equinix also disputed the share of Vanguard and BlackRock ownership, though it did not provide concrete numbers. The shares quoted by SOMO are sourced from LSEG (April 2026) and confirmed(opens in new window) by other publicly available sources.

The company entered the European market through a series of acquisitions. In 2007, it acquired(opens in new window) IX Europe, which immediately granted it control over data centres in Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, and Düsseldorf. In 2017, Equinix bought Itconic to expand(opens in new window) into Spain and Portugal. Itconic’s clients include Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. In 2019, Equinix and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, created a joint venture (opens in new window) to develop and operate hyperscale data centres in Europe with the stated aim to serve “the world’s largest cloud service providers”.

The company continues to expand. In March 2026, Equinix announced its plan to acquire atNorth, one of Europe’s biggest data centre operators, in partnership with the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. The deal requires regulatory approval, but, if successful, it will grant Equinix control over eight already-operational data centres and, according to Arizton, five upcoming projects in the EU. AtNorth has also secured significant energy capacity as it has just signed a new agreement with E.ON.(opens in new window)

Equinix openly acknowledges the importance of hyperscale customers to its business, stating(opens in new window) that it “has [a] deep relationship with the top global hyperscale companies”. This relationship was demonstrated when local authorities in the Netherlands asked Equinix and other data centre companies seeking new construction permits to reserve a part of their server space for Dutch and European companies and governments.

Equinix rejected this request. According to Dutch media outlet NOS(opens in new window) , Equinix’s director in the Netherlands said, “[w]e’re not going to change our business model […]. The IT world is not like that”.

The Equinix example highlights a broader contradiction at the heart of Europe’s digital sovereignty agenda. While policymakers claim to be expanding data centre infrastructure in the name of technological autonomy, operators such as Equinix remain commercially oriented towards serving the largest multinational corporate cloud providers.

Merlin Properties

Merlin Properties stands apart from the other companies examined above. It is a Spanish real estate company that entered(opens in new window) the data centre business in 2021. As of December 2025, it owns(opens in new window) five data centres in Spain and Portugal.

Merlin Properties is publicly listed, and its top three shareholders include(opens in new window) Banco Santander, Nortia Capital Investment Holding, and BlackRock. While ownership is more European than that of many of its competitors, international financial actors remain present among its major investors.

The company operates its data centres business through its subsidiary, Merlin Edged. It also has(opens in new window) a joint venture with the US infrastructure company Endeavour(opens in new window) , called Edged Spain(opens in new window) , which is responsible for technical operations.

Like other co-location providers, Merlin’s business model is heavily dependent on hyperscale customers. The company has disclosed(opens in new window) that “a small number of tenants currently account for a significant part of [Merlin Properties]’s revenue from data centre rental activity”. Meta was reported(opens in new window) to be a tenant of Merlin’s data centres in Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao.

Merlin Properties has also sought to position itself within the rapidly growing AI infrastructure market. In May 2025, Merlin Properties announced a partnership with CoreWeave(opens in new window) , a US AI cloud-computing company, to run NVIDIA Hopper(opens in new window) -AI infrastructure in Barcelona. CoreWeave customers include AI giants OpenAI(opens in new window) , Perplexity(opens in new window) , and Anthropic(opens in new window) .

The CEO of Merlin Properties, Ismael Clemente, stated in a recent interview(opens in new window) that the company’s data centre expansion in the Iberian region is an attractive investment opportunity for US capital and hyperscalers.

Merlin Properties illustrates an important nuance: despite being European, much of the demand driving its expansion comes from US Big Tech and investment firms.

DATA4

DATA4(opens in new window) is a co-location company headquartered in France. It owns and operates data centre campuses in France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Germany, and Greece. Although often presented as a European data centre champion and pledging itself to European sovereignty(opens in new window) , the company’s growth has been driven increasingly by global infrastructure capital.

DATA4 was established(opens in new window) by US investment firm Colony Capital (now DigitalBridge(opens in new window) ). In 2018, it was acquired by AXA IM Real Assets, before changing hands again in 2023 when Brookfield Infrastructure acquired(opens in new window) the company. Brookfield Infrastructure(opens in new window) , which is legally domiciled in Bermuda, now holds(opens in new window) a 19 per cent stake in DATA4 but has all of the voting rights.

The company’s customer base is equally revealing. According to Swen Capital Partners(opens in new window) , a France-based asset management firm and an investor in DATA4’s hyperscale data centre portfolio, the majority of the capacity of DATA4’s data centres is tied up in long-term contracts with ‘Tech giants’ – another nickname given to Big Tech companies.

DATA4’s ownership and financing are deeply embedded in global networks of capital, and its customer base is dominated by large hyperscalers. As with many other operators in the sector, the location of the infrastructure in Europe does not necessarily translate into European control over the infrastructure or the services it supports.

Will the EU’s data centre build-out serve the European public interest?

Our analysis raises doubts about whether the EU’s planned data centre build-out, as envisioned under the proposed CADA, will actually serve the European public interest or advance meaningful digital sovereignty.

The European Commission presents the data centre acceleration zones as a tool to strengthen Europe’s digital autonomy and reduce dependence on US tech companies. Yet, our findings suggest that much of the EU’s data centre capacity appears to be controlled through global infrastructure capital (mostly controlled from the US) and locked into long-term contracts with the very US-based Big Tech hyperscalers on which the EU claims it wants to be less dependent. On top of that, there is a history of US companies using mergers and acquisitions to take over European infrastructure – a warning that the EU’s strategy of promoting ‘European champions’ is extremely vulnerable to being taken over by US capital and interests in particular.

The result is a disconnect between the rhetoric of sovereignty and the realities of ownership, financing, and control. It could turn the EU’s sovereignty agenda into a sovereignty illusion: more data centres in EU Member States, but not necessarily more democratic control, public accountability, or reduced dependence on Big Tech.

Even more importantly, a frenzy to build energy-intensive data centres will likely further strain the region’s energy grids and land and water resources, while limiting the ability of communities to decide how to manage their resources. The European Commission itself acknowledges that one of the potential impacts of the data centre acceleration zones will be higher electricity prices(opens in new window) for citizens

It is telling that the vast majority of European (opens in new window) public authorities, NGOs, and citizens that responded to the Commission’s preparatory consultation did not support the acceleration zones proposal.

If the EU wishes to address future data centre needs while protecting communities, the environment, and reducing dependence on Big Tech, it should instead:

• implement an immediate moratorium on all data centres in the EU that are owned by, developed for, or primarily serving Big Tech;
• make data centre co-location licensing dependent on reserving a meaningful share of capacity for European-owned or controlled companies and, especially, for public sector needs; monitor actual public-interest capacity needs in the EU, and impose strict transparency requirements on all projects, covering ownership, financing, customers, energy consumption, and actual capacity utilisation;
• guarantee that affected communities have timely and sufficient access to information on expected environmental and social impacts of data centres and are able to meaningfully participate in and shape decisions about project development that impact them. This must include ensuring that data centre operators enable this participation.

Ultimately, the issue over data centres is not simply about digital infrastructure. It is about power. The key question is not how many data centres Europe can build, but who owns them, who profits from them, and whose interests they serve. The European Commission must ask a fundamental question: digital sovereignty for whom, and for what purpose?

If new infrastructure primarily serves the expansion of US Big Tech companies, private equity, and asset managers, then the EU’s digital sovereignty agenda risks entrenching corporate power rather than challenging it. A sovereign digital future requires not only infrastructure in the EU, but democratic control over the infrastructure on which Europe’s digital future depends.

SOMO invited Digital Realty, CyrusOne, Merlin Properties, Equinix, DATA4, and the European Commission to respond to a draft of the findings in this article. Only Equinix and the European Commission responded. Their responses have been incorporated in pop-out notes at various points in the text and can be found in full here.