EU Data Center Capacity Growth Lags Behind US and China, Oxford Economics Reports
Oxford Economics reports that the EU will not see AI investment growth comparable to the US, with EU imports of AI hardware remaining flat by 2025. European data center capacity is currently 12,000 MW, projected to grow by less than 1,000 MW by 2025 due to various constraints.
Even if capacity doubles by 2030, the economic impact would be minimal, contributing only 0.1% to nominal EU GDP. Average investment costs for data centers range from 8 to 12 million euros per MW, with spending expected to rise from 12 billion euros in 2025 to over 20 billion by 2030.
By 2025, US data center capacity is nearly five times that of the EU and Chinese capacity is at least double. Projections indicate US and China will see significant increases in electricity consumption for data centers compared to Europe.
