The American company Blackstone, through its data center subsidiary QTS Realty Trust, has announced an investment of €7.5 billion for the construction of a data center in Calatorao, a town located 280 kilometers from Madrid. This will be the first phase of a project that, once completed, will become Blackstone’s largest data center in Europe, with a total capacity of 300 megawatts (MW).
The center will be built on a plot of 224 hectares, in a newly created industrial estate in Aragon, consolidating the region’s commitment to positioning itself as a hub for cloud computing in Europe. Major tech companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft already have a presence in the community, and there are currently 19 data center projects in the approval process.
The first phase of the project, named Rhodes, will occupy around 110 hectares of the industrial estate and will generate 1,400 jobs, with 1,200 dedicated to construction and 200 created for operation when it becomes operational in 2027. This complex will serve as a hub for tech companies to rent space for their servers.
The president of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, highlighted the strategic importance of this investment for the region. “Aragon has immense potential and meets the ideal conditions to become a European reference in the data center sector,” Azcón said. He emphasized the region’s ability to generate clean energy, its privileged location, and the social peace that characterizes the territory, all factors that have been key to attracting these investments.
The Rhodes project, which represents one of the largest investments in technological infrastructure in Spain, comes at a time when the demand for data centers in Europe is growing exponentially. It is estimated that the capacity of these centers on the continent will reach 13,100 MW by 2027. Aragon is positioning itself as a hub for cloud and big data technologies, key for the digital transformation of the region and the country.
In addition to the data center in Calatorao, Blackstone is expanding its operations in Europe with projects in the Netherlands and future developments in the UK.
The strategic location of the new industrial estate, next to the A-2 highway and near Zaragoza, was a determining factor for Blackstone. The project also has an agreement for energy supply through a high-voltage substation that will begin construction before the end of the year. This substation will be crucial to ensure the electrical supply needed for the data center’s operations, a high-demand energy infrastructure.
With this ambitious project, Blackstone strengthens its position as the world’s largest manager of alternative assets, and Aragon solidifies its position as a leader in the European technology sector, with a total investment that could exceed €15 billion after all phases of the data center are completed.
The development of this data center will provide a significant economic boost for Aragon, with a projected impact of between €16,500 and €25,450 million on the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the next 25 years. The project not only reinforces Aragon’s commitment to technology but also creates employment opportunities and positions the region as a leader in Europe’s digital transformation.
The arrival of Blackstone and its commitment to the Aragonese community underline the growing importance of the region on the map of major international technology investments.