“Everyone is Talking About Portugal“: Sines Data Center CEO on Rising tech Investment
The data center sector in Portugal is experiencing meaningful momentum, attracting attention from major American technology companies, according to the CEO of Start Campus, the company developing a large-scale data center campus in Sines. He asserts Portugal “is very strong” in this sector, and the recent deal between Nvidia and Microsoft “proves that Portugal is a good home for AI investments in Europe and the EU.”
A key driver for this interest, he explains, is data sovereignty. “It already is [important],” he stated, noting the issue has moved beyond conversation to concrete decisions and investments over the past year. He believes Portugal’s location offers a unique advantage: “Portugal seems like the perfect place to be, not only because of low prices and renewable energy, but also because of its geographic location in the Atlantic with all the submarine cables coming from other continents. It is indeed well located to be a large data center in the EU and Europe.”
The company is actively securing resources for its sines campus. Agreements are in place with REN, the transport network manager, to ensure electricity access, and the first renewable energy purchase agreements have been signed, with plans for continued expansion in future buildings. While a potential agreement with the Fernando Pessoa giga-solar plant in Santiago do Cacém is being considered (“potentially” it could become a supplier), no firm agreements are currently in place.
Start Campus is also prioritizing lasting cooling solutions. The first building currently utilizes 40% seawater for cooling, returning it to the sea, with a goal of reaching 100% seawater usage across the entire campus. “We are preparing to have more seawater in the rest of the campus in the next phase. In the second building and the rest of the campus, all cooling will be done with seawater. We are using the cooling power of the sea to cool the data center.” The company emphasizes its water recycling system, claiming “zero effective use of water” compared to traditional cooling towers that require industrial water. “We have an efficient cooling system, we don’t use water,” he said, adding that the energy required to pump the recycled water is “incredibly low compared to cooling units from air conditioning.”
Regarding the recently announced AI gigafactory and potential consortium, start Campus acknowledges awareness of sines as a potential location. “We know that Sines is being advanced as a potential location. We hope that the consortium will speak to us at some point, but there is no direct relationship yet.”
While acknowledging the recent investments from companies like Blackrock, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Macquarie, the CEO stated Start Campus is not currently seeking direct investment. “We are not looking for direct investment at the moment. There will be a lot of capital requirements in the future expansion of the campus. But we already have some partners that allow us to start with the next building. And the future investment will come later, as soon as we have the customers.”
