Telefónica, Nvidia, ACS, and the government are leading a strategic European effort to reduce technological dependence and build a sovereign AI ecosystem.
Spain has officially proposed hosting one of the five AI gigafactories that the European Commission will promote as part of the AI Continental Action Plan. The proposed site is Móra la Nova, in Tarragona province. The bid, which would involve an estimated investment of €5 billion—35% publicly funded and the rest private—has the backing of a consortium led by Telefónica, including companies like ACS, MasOrange, Nvidia, Submer, Multiverse Computing, and the public entity SETT (Spanish Society for Technological Transformation), overseen by the Digital Transformation Ministry.
Each gigafactory’s main goal will be to host around 100,000 advanced processing units, essential for training foundational AI models from Europe and helping to bridge the significant computational gap that currently separates the continent from the tech leadership of the US and China. Currently, Europe accounts for only about 10% of global AI computing capacity, compared to 80% controlled by the mentioned superpowers.
A well-positioned proposal in the European map
The Commission has received 76 applications from countries like Germany, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. An initial screening is expected in the upcoming months, after which the finalist projects will need to submit detailed proposals by December 2025. The selected facilities should be operational between 2027 and 2028.
Spain’s bid has a significant advantage: Barcelona, as a well-established digital hub, ranks fifth in Europe for investments in tech startups and boasts scientific infrastructures like the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, home to Spain’s most powerful supercomputer. This critical mass of innovation, talent, and digital services strengthens the viability of the proposal.
Moreover, the fragmentation of the German bid—where Deutsche Telekom, Ionos, and Schwarz submitted separate proposals after failing to reach a consensus, and SAP was out of the consortium—could favor the Spanish project, which is presented as a unified, multi-sector initiative.
Hardware alone isn’t enough: building the “middle layer”
Having 100,000 chips doesn’t automatically ensure that companies, startups, and research centers can use them effectively. The key lies in designing from the outset a service layer that connects infrastructure with the economic ecosystem. This layer should include:
– Standardized access interfaces to facilitate use by users with varying technical expertise.
– Efficient resource management systems like Slurm or similar tools.
– Specialized technical support to reduce barriers for SMEs and scale-ups.
– Data storage and transfer infrastructure aligned with European privacy and security standards.
Spain’s technical and academic ecosystem is well prepared to build this intermediate layer, integrating experience in HPC, AI, and advanced digital services.
A European ecosystem, not a national race
Although it appears as a competition among countries, the gigafactories will be European infrastructures in design, operation, and use. Therefore, Brussels envisions a coordinated strategy in key areas:
– Joint procurement of chips, similar to vaccine acquisition during the pandemic, to reduce dependence on US manufacturers and ensure access to cutting-edge hardware.
– Data governance rules to enable the secure and interoperable sharing of industrial, health, or logistics datasets.
– Interoperability among centers, fostering collaborative networks among European users and researchers.
Commercial flexibility: the key to turning the initiative into investment
The success of the gigafactory will depend not only on the hardware installed but also on its commercial and access strategies. Proposed models include:
– Compute-as-a-Service, allowing flexible, scalable access with pay-per-use.
– Sectoral consortia where multiple companies in the same sector reserve capacity together.
– Quotas for SMEs, universities, and scientific projects, ensuring diverse and equitable resource use.
The goal isn’t just to train European foundational models to compete with OpenAI or Anthropic but also to provide computational muscle to strategic sectors such as biotechnology, renewables, logistics, and advanced manufacturing.
As recently noted by President Salvador Illa, it’s about exploring collaborative “go-to-market” strategies that align infrastructure with Europe’s economic and technological objectives.
An ambitious plan aiming for leadership
With a planned investment of €200 billion for the entire initiative and €20 billion allocated to these five major infrastructures, the European Commission has made clear that the race for technological sovereignty cannot be delayed. Spain, with its proposal in Tarragona, positions itself favorably to play a leading role in the new European computational landscape.
If selected, the gigafactory would not only provide raw power but also a design focused on serving, innovating, and competing. Everything will hinge on ensuring the final design considers both the machinery and the cables connecting it to Europe’s future economy.
References: expansion and European Commission.