Global Data Centers News

Deutsche Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel delivered a speech in Berlin arguing that Europe should deepen integration and invest in AI-related infrastructure to become a major technological player.

• Nagel said Europe needs more venture capital, enough computing capacity, and integrated markets to scale AI firms, including investment in data centres, energy grids, and secure electricity supply at competitive prices.
• He linked Europe’s future competitiveness to the single market, cross-border interconnections, and the digital euro, and cited the Stanford AI Index Report 2026 and other 2026 references as supporting context.

Antonio Tajani has outlined Italy’s push to strengthen its economic and industrial partnership with Brazil during a visit to São Paulo.

• He said he is leading a system mission with around 100 Italian companies and Confindustria President Emanuele Orsini, focused on expanding cooperation across priority sectors.
• He cited EU-Mercosur opportunities, said bilateral trade in 2025 exceeded €11 billion, and highlighted cooperation in critical minerals, energy, renewables, biofuels, green hydrogen, AI, agritech, fintech, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and health technologies.
• The piece is an editorial/interview published in O Globo on 9 September 2026, and it references previous participation in COP Belém and Italy’s internationalization plan prioritizing Brazil and Latin America.

Google has announced a €13 billion investment in digital infrastructure, clean energy projects, and economic partnerships across Finland over the next two years.

• The company said the investment will support 37,000+ jobs during 2027-2028 and contribute €3.6 billion annually to Finland’s GDP; it also includes €31 million for local communities in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala over four years.
• Google said it will back AI upskilling for more than 4,400 workers, create training for 100 Finnish students, support the Loviisa nuclear power plant through a 22-year agreement, add new onshore wind capacity, and contract a 94-megawatt battery system; it also mentioned projects for forests, wetlands, trails, public saunas, and fishing piers.

Google has announced a new expansion of its digital infrastructure and clean energy strategy in Finland, including new data centers, energy partnerships, and community investments.

• The company said it will expand in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala, and it announced a life extension PPA with Fortum for the Loviisa nuclear power plant; it also said it is supporting two onshore wind projects and a 94 MW battery system near its Kajaani site.
• Google said the battery system is expected to be operational in late 2027; it also cited a commissioned study on siting 1 GW of new demand in the Oulu–Kajaani region, which it said could save Finnish energy consumers an estimated €520 million over 20 years. Footnotes note Fortum’s EUR 1 billion investment programme in Loviisa and that about EUR 700 million of capital expenditure remains pending investment decisions.

Q.ANT has announced the appointment of Joerg Behrend as Vice President Hardware to lead next-generation photonic processor development and production readiness.

• Behrend will oversee the chip technology, processor architecture, and production readiness of Q.ANT’s Native Processing Units (NPUs), reporting to CTO Bruno Spruth and working across Stuttgart and Austin, Texas.
• Q.ANT says this is its fifth leadership hire within 12 months; the company notes its photonic systems are already in use at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, and IONOS, with a first commercial deployment planned for 2026.
• The press release also reiterates Q.ANT’s background: founded in 2018, based in Stuttgart, operating a TFLN chip pilot line with IMS CHIPS, and having secured Europe’s largest Series A for photonic computing in 2025.

The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has warned that AI datacentres are growing faster than electricity infrastructure, raising risks for grid reliability and resilience worldwide.

• Datacentre consumption is expected to almost double by 2030, rising from 485 TWh in 2025 to 950 TWh by 2030; UNECE says large facilities can be built and connected in 2 to 5 years, while transmission/grid upgrades can take more than 10 years.
• Investment in datacentre infrastructure worldwide is forecast to rise from around $800 billion per year in 2026 to $1.8 trillion per year in 2050; the article also cites connection restrictions in Dublin and constraints in the Netherlands as examples of policy responses.

The Kremlin published a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Acting Governor of the Tver Region Vitaly Korolyov on regional development, utilities, and infrastructure.

• Korolyov discussed gas distribution expansion, including a five-year, 28.5 billion ruble programme to connect residents and businesses faster; he also raised transferring the bankrupt urban heating supply system in Tver to regional control.
• He additionally requested support for a new 330 kV substation and connecting networks tied to the Moscow–St Petersburg high-speed railway and to serve new investment projects; the meeting also covered roads, tourism, agriculture, and Berdyansk reconstruction funding and crews.
  This appears to be a first-published Kremlin news meeting report, not a new standalone corporate announcement.