Spanish data center firm Nabiax has started work on a new facility in Madrid.

The company last week held a ceremony in the city of Alcalá de Henares to lay the cornerstone for Alcalá Data Center 3 (ADC3).

The new facility will complete its Alcalá campus and represent an investment of nearly €800 million ($918m).

The project will gradually add up to 100MW of IT capacity through 2029, with infrastructure designed to meet the demand of hyperscale customers, cloud services, and artificial intelligence workloads.

With ADC3, Nabiax will reach 135MW of installed IT power in Spain, combining its Madrid campuses and its facilities in Catalonia.

For Nabiax CEO Pablo Ruiz-Escribano, data centers have become critical infrastructure for the digital economy. “Today, they are also the home of artificial intelligence,” he said, highlighting its role in applications ranging from medical research to public services," he said.

The CEO also positioned the project within Spain’s strategy to establish itself as a European digital hub, drawing on factors such as energy, connectivity, talent, and its geographic location.

The facility will use a closed-loop cooling system.

The project also includes a collaboration with the University of Alcalá (UAH) to promote scholarships, internships, and research, and to help attract some of the talent trained in the region to the digital infrastructure sector.

During the event, Ruiz-Escribano defended the need to combine sustainability goals with a framework that safeguards investment and legal certainty.

“The challenge is not choosing between sustainability and growth; the challenge is ensuring they go hand in hand,” stated the CEO of Nabiax, who called for distinguishing between mature projects - with approved financing, obtained licenses, or construction already underway - and new developments.

The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, also addressed the issue of regulation and defended the need for a stable framework for the sector. “Data centers are not a problem, but rather part of the solution and an opportunity that we certainly intend to take advantage of,” she stated.

Ayuso noted that Madrid currently has 58 projects, of which 41 are operational, and 15 are under construction, while another 40 projects are part of a portfolio representing an investment of approximately €15 billion ($17.1bn), according to figures provided during the event.

ADC 1 launched in 2013 and totals 4,800 sqm (51,666 sq ft). ADC 2 launched in 2022 and offers 6,000 sqm (64,583 sq ft). Combined, they total 22MW. News that the company was planning a third facility on the campus surfaced last month.

Asterion Industrial Partners created Nabiax in 2019 through the acquisition of 11 data centers across Spain and Latin America from Telefónica. Telefónica then contributed three additional assets in exchange for a 20 percent stake in the operator in 2021. Nabiax sold its 11 data centers in Latin America to Actis in 2023. Keppel-linked European asset management company Aermont acquired Nabiax in 2024.

The company also operates the 10MW Julián Camarillo Data Center near Madrid and the 1.3MW Terrassa facility outside Barcelona.

This story was originally posted on DCD's Spanish website. It has been automatically translated and edited by a member of staff.