Real estate firm Merlin Properties and data center company Edged Energy have broken ground on a new campus in Lisbon, Portugal.
The companies this week announced the start of construction on the 180MW campus located in the Parque das Nações business district of Vila Franca de Xira. The campus will be constructed in phases with the first of five facilities expected to come online in 2027.
Merlin and Edged said they are working to bring additional power to the site to potentially offer up to 300MW of capacity.
“Portugal has always been a key real estate market for Merlin, representing a significant part of our portfolio, with assets worth ca. €1.2 billion in offices, logistics, and shopping centers, to date,” said Merlin CEO Ismael Clemente. “The new asset class driving the growth of the company, data centers, will give Portugal significant protagonism. The country enjoys a superb location for sub-sea cable communications, robust electric grid, and an abundance of renewable energy, all in an investor-friendly environment, open to innovation and with very attractive economic fundamentals.”
Merlin first announced plans to move into the data center space in 2021 alongside the then-newly formed Edged.
The companies’ first three Spanish facilities – located in Barcelona, Madrid, and the greater Bilbao area – were completed last year. Construction is expected to begin on the next phase of the Bilbao-Arasur campus later this year, with the aim of achieving up to 300MW of IT power in the long term.
“We are on a mission to create data centers for positive impact and are proud to be part of Portugal’s fast-growing digital economy. The region boasts unprecedented fiber connectivity, with 10 intercontinental submarine cables landing or stopping near Lisbon, and a deep commitment to renewable energy production and sustainable design,” said Edge founder Jakob Carnemark. “It is an approach we share and uniquely aligns with our efforts to combat climate change through innovation. Together, we are delivering future-proof solutions to meet the needs of the region’s thriving tech hub while conserving the area’s precious natural resources.”
In February DCD reported that Meta had become the main customer for the three Merlin data centers in Spain.
In the US, Edged is rapidly building out a large footprint. The company has projects in development across Missouri, Arizona, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Arizona, and Illinois. It launched a facility in Atlanta, Georgia, in August.
