The global race to build next-generation AI infrastructure is accelerating at unprecedented speed. Across the industry, the conversation has shifted from whether AI demand will grow - to whether the world can deploy enough power, cooling and digital infrastructure capacity quickly enough to support it.
That is why our latest announcement with Nscale represents such an important milestone - not only for Start Campus and our continued partnership with Nscale, but also for Portugal and Europe’s broader AI ambitions.
Together, we are announcing plans to support one of Europe’s largest deployments of next-generation NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPU infrastructure, with more than 66,000 GPUs planned for deployment at our SINES Data Campus in Portugal from late 2027.
This builds on the successful deployment already underway at our SIN01 facility and represents another major step forward in the development of one of Europe’s most important AI infrastructure platforms.
Why This Matters
AI is rapidly becoming foundational infrastructure for economies, industries and societies. The ability to support frontier AI workloads at scale will increasingly shape competitiveness, innovation and digital sovereignty over the coming decade.
Europe now faces a critical challenge: ensuring it has sufficient large-scale, sustainable and globally connected infrastructure capable of supporting the next generation of AI computing.
Projects of this scale are exceptionally difficult to deliver. Access to power, permitting, connectivity and operational scalability are becoming major constraints across global markets. As demand continues to surge, the gap between available infrastructure and required infrastructure is widening rapidly.
This is precisely where Sines has emerged as a uniquely strategic location.
The SIN02 200MW Data Centre – Coming online by H2 2027
Sines: Europe’s Atlantic Gateway for AI
From the beginning, our vision for Start Campus has been clear: to create one of Europe’s leading large-scale digital infrastructure platforms - purpose-built for the future of AI.
The SINES Data Campus combines several characteristics that are becoming increasingly rare at hyperscale:
Importantly, our campus has been designed specifically to support the growing requirements of accelerated computing and high-density AI environments. This includes advanced cooling architectures, operational resilience and the ability to support future generations of compute infrastructure at enormous scale.
As AI infrastructure requirements continue to intensify, we believe Sines is becoming one of Europe’s most strategically important locations for AI development and deployment.
Sustainability Must Scale Alongside AI
One of the defining challenges of the AI era will be balancing exponential compute growth with long-term sustainability.
At Start Campus, we believe these objectives must go hand in hand.
Our platform has been designed around renewable-powered infrastructure and innovative seawater cooling systems capable of delivering highly efficient operations at scale. This approach enables us to support the next generation of AI infrastructure while maintaining a strong focus on energy efficiency and responsible long-term development.
The future of AI infrastructure will not simply be determined by who can build the fastest - but by who can build sustainably, efficiently and responsibly over decades.
The Strength of Partnership
Large-scale AI infrastructure projects are only possible through strong partnerships built on long-term alignment, execution capability and shared ambition.
Our continued collaboration with Nscale reflects that approach.
Together, we are helping create one of Europe’s most advanced environments for AI infrastructure deployment - supporting Microsoft’s European AI requirements while also strengthening Europe’s broader digital ecosystem.
This latest expansion further reinforces the confidence that leading AI companies are placing in Portugal, in Sines and in the Start Campus platform.
The SIN02 200MW Data Centre – Coming online by H2 2027
Looking Ahead
We remain firmly focused on executing our long-term vision for the 1.2GW SINES Data Campus.
The scale of global AI demand is still only beginning to emerge. Over the coming years, Europe will require substantial new digital infrastructure capacity to support AI innovation, sovereign capability and economic competitiveness.
We believe Portugal is uniquely positioned to play a central role in that future.
And we believe Sines is rapidly establishing itself as one of the defining AI infrastructure hubs on the Atlantic Coast of Europe.
The opportunity ahead is significant - not just for Start Campus, but for Portugal and for Europe’s digital future.
Learn more about the 1.2GW SINES Data Campus here:
https://www.startcampus.pt/sines
The SIN02 200MW Data Centre – Coming online by H2 2027
Get in touch with Robert Dunn