IREN to Build 300MW Sovereign AI Data Center Campus in Badajoz, Spain

IREN (NASDAQ: IREN) announced at NVIDIA GTC Berlin that it has established IREN Europe and secured the civil works license for its planned AI data center campus in Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. The project is designed to deliver approximately 300MW of capacity, with initial operations targeted for 2028, marking a significant step in the company's expansion into the European sovereign AI infrastructure market.

The Badajoz campus is part of IREN's broader portfolio of more than 5GW of grid-connected power across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, positioning the company to serve customers with varying data residency requirements across regions. The facility is designed around closed-loop liquid cooling, which requires minimal water for cooling, and is built for compatibility with the NVIDIA DSX AI Factory Platform. IREN plans to offer managed AI cloud services from the site, including capabilities derived from its acquisition of Mirantis, such as k0rdent AI, which provides workload isolation and operational controls to help customers address data residency, security and governance requirements. These software capabilities also integrate NVIDIA technologies including NVIDIA Infra Controller (NICo) and NVIDIA Run:ai into a unified platform.

"For customers in Europe, sovereign AI starts with two questions: where their data sits and who's running the infrastructure," said Daniel Roberts, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of IREN. "That's what IREN Europe is for: our own sites, run by our own people, with a board that's accountable in Europe."

As part of its European expansion, IREN has appointed Ángel Corcóstegui, former First Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Banco Santander, as Chair of the newly established board of directors of IREN Europe. Roberto Purcaro, who brings more than 25 years of international experience in infrastructure, energy transition and digital infrastructure, most recently as Global Head of Complex Opportunities and Head of Italy at Macquarie Capital, has been appointed Executive Director for Europe and joins the board. IREN entered the European market in June 2026 with the acquisition of Nostrum Group, a Spain-based data center developer, and its team of more than 60 employees led by Gabriel Nebreda, Chief Executive Officer of IREN Spain.

"Spain has exceptional conditions to become a European hub for AI digital infrastructure, thanks to its excellent connectivity and abundant, competitive renewable energy," said Corcóstegui. "It is an honor to chair IREN Europe and I look forward to helping execute our growth plans."

The establishment of IREN Europe and the Badajoz project underscore a growing trend among AI infrastructure providers to localize data processing and storage within specific jurisdictions, as European enterprises and public institutions increasingly prioritize data sovereignty and operational control. By developing its own sites and operating them directly, IREN aims to differentiate itself in a competitive European market where hyperscalers and regional operators are racing to build AI-ready capacity. The project also highlights Spain's emergence as a preferred location for AI data centers, driven by its renewable energy resources and connectivity infrastructure.