Eni famous that the brand new knowledge middle campus is a part of a broader strategic partnership between Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced earlier this 12 months
In sum – what to know:
New AI hub deliberate – Khazna and Eni will collectively construct a 500 MW knowledge middle campus in Lombardy area centered on AI and HPC workloads.
Sustainable vitality supply – The power will probably be powered by low-carbon “Blue Energy” from a fuel plant with CO2 seize capabilities.
Bilateral initiative – The undertaking stems from a UAE–Italy partnership aiming to develop 1 GW of IT capability throughout the nation.
Dubai-based Khazna Information Facilities and Italian vitality firm Eni have signed a preliminary settlement with the purpose of forming a three way partnership to develop a large-scale AI knowledge middle campus in northern Italy.
In a launch, Eni mentioned that the deliberate web site, situated in Ferrera Erbognone, Lombardy, is predicted to ship as much as 500 MW of IT capability. The settlement — formalized by way of a Heads of Phrases (HoT) doc — outlines the roles, governance and shared targets of each corporations.
The information middle campus is a part of a broader strategic partnership between Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced earlier this 12 months. That collaboration goals to deploy as much as 1 GW of digital infrastructure capability throughout Italy, specializing in synthetic intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC).
The Italian vitality agency mentioned that the brand new campus will probably be designed to assist scalable, energy-efficient digital infrastructure to serve Europe’s rising demand for AI workloads. In keeping with each corporations, the event will prioritize sustainability and long-term resilience, combining Khazna’s expertise in hyperscale knowledge facilities with Eni’s experience in low-carbon vitality.
Hassan Alnaqbi, CEO of Khazna Information Facilities, mentioned: “We’re proud to companion with Eni, a demonstrated vitality chief, on this HoT, which represents a defining step in Khazna’s European enlargement. Along with Eni, we’re enabling the infrastructure wanted for exponential AI progress — delivering the dimensions, sustainability and operational precision that next-generation compute calls for.”
Guido Brusco, COO of world pure assets at Eni, added: “By this partnership Eni and Khazna are collectively contributing to delivering a world-class hyperscale infrastructure, strategic for Italy and Europe, offering their distinctive capabilities in innovation, vitality sustainability and fast time-to-market.”
The pair defined that this new undertaking will probably be powered by “blue energy” from Eni, which refers to low-carbon electrical energy generated by a high-efficiency fuel energy plant that comes with CO2 seize know-how. If realized, the ability could be one of many first in Europe to mix knowledge middle infrastructure with built-in carbon discount methods at this scale, Eni mentioned.
Khazna has beforehand introduced two new knowledge facilities within the UAE. The 2 services will probably be situated in Mafraq and Masdar Metropolis, offering a mixed 60MW of capability.
It’s anticipated the info facilities – AUH4 in Mafraq and AUH8 in Masdar Metropolis – will probably be totally accomplished in late December 2026 and August 2026, respectively.
Khazna launched a 31.8MW knowledge middle in Abu Dhabi in February 2024, often called AUH6, and likewise in Masdar Metropolis.
The corporate is backed by G42, and in April 2025 secured further funding from MGX and Silver Lake, with the funding companies changing into minority shareholders within the enterprise. It presently operates 30 knowledge facilities throughout the UAE and can also be growing a facility in Egypt.
AI knowledge facilities are the spine of contemporary machine studying and computational developments. Nevertheless, one of many largest challenges these AI knowledge facilities face is the large energy consumption they require. In contrast to conventional knowledge facilities, which primarily deal with storage and processing for normal enterprise purposes, AI knowledge facilities should assist intensive workloads akin to deep studying, large-scale knowledge analytics in addition to real-time decision-making. On this article, RCR Wi-fi Information explains why these services eat a lot energy.
