Data Centers as Europe's New Defense Infrastructure
Article originally published on LinkedIn
View original article on LinkedInIn the 19th century, nations raced to build railroads. In the 20th, it was steel mills and oil refineries. In the 21st, the strategic race is about the Electric and Digital Stack.
Why Data Centers Are No Longer "Just Buildings"
- Nervous systems of the digital economy
- Anchors of sovereignty
- Strategic energy nodes
Europe's Current Position
- Capacity: ~10% of global datacenter capacity
- Dependency: Nearly all chips come from Asia
- Energy Stress: By 2030, data centers could consume 3-4% of Europe's electricity
What Must Change
- Tie inward investment to local R&D
- Build the Electric Stack at home
- Integrate Defense and Digital
- Open Procurement to SMEs
- Plan Energy + Compute Together
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