Data centers are key to unlock AI investment, which many countries have prioritised for their economic and competitiveness strategies. EU has launched InvestAI initiative to mobilise €200 billion of investment in AI, including a new European fund of €20 billion for AI gigafactories.
Governments are investing heavily in infrastructure to support AI workloads
The U.S. government unveiled the America’s AI Action Plan, which emphasizes private-sector leadership, deregulation, and national security, aiming to ensure the U.S. maintains global dominance in AI technologies. It includes support for open-source AI, workforce development, and federal adoption of AI systems.
Governments are investing heavily in infrastructure to support AI workloads. The European data center market, valued at $47 billion in 2024, is projected to nearly double to $97 billion by 2030, fueling job creation, innovation, and increased tax. Global market size is forecasted to be $652.01 billion by 2030 by Grand View Research.
Explosive Growth Driven by AI and Cloud
Hyperscale operators like AWS, Google, and Microsoft are investing billions to meet demand for high-density compute environments. AI workloads, especially those involving large language models (LLM) and generative AI, are pushing infrastructure requirements to new extremes, with liquid cooling and GPU-optimized designs becoming standard.
Power Constraints and Market Shifts
European countries with lower levels of grid congestion are projected to see data center growth double compared to locations with higher levels, according to a report from energy data platform Ember.
Investment and Innovation Outlook
Global data centre capacity is projected to grow at 15% annually, but this still falls short of meeting demand. Over $170 billion in asset value is expected to seek development financing in 2025 alone.
The industry is also seeing a shift toward edge computing, modular builds, and sovereign AI zones. These trends reflect a broader transformation in how digital infrastructure is planned, financed, and deployed.
Sustainability and Energy Efficiency
As AI-driven workloads consume more energy, sustainability has become a central concern. Data centres operators are responding by investing in green data centers, renewable energy sourcing, and advanced cooling technologies.