Quark takes part in the design of the 500 MW Stoneshield data centre in Cantabria

XDC Properties, a subsidiary of the Stoneshield Capital group, has announced a new project together with the Government of Cantabria, known as ‘Project Altamira’. The initiative involves the development of a technological campus that will house a high-capacity 500 MW data centre, which will entail an investment of 3.6 billion euros in the region, the largest ever received, and whose design and development is being participated in by Quark, part of the engineering and technology group Sener. The project will boost the economic, technological and social development of Cantabria. Development is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025, with the aim of starting operations in 2032.

“The Altamira Project will consist of 12 adjacent data centre modules of 40 MW each, which will have a surface area of ​​75,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels to supply renewable energy to the campus. The project will be developed in a modular and phased manner, accompanying the development and growth of end customers, to facilitate implementation and flexibly adapt to their needs,” says Ricardo Abad, CEO of Quark, technical advisor of XDC Properties.

During the construction phase, more than 1,500 direct jobs will be created. The operational stage will create more than 1,450 jobs, of which 350 will be direct and 1,100 indirect. The Altamira project will be declared a Strategic Business Project by the Government of Cantabria due to its high economic investment and creation of quality employment, its commitment to sustainability and the reduction of CO2 emissions, and the goal of transforming the selected lands into a European benchmark technological infrastructure.

Felipe Morenés, co-founder of Stoneshield Capital, has pointed out that “with this project, Cantabria is positioned as one of the main technological hubs in Europe, at the level of cities such as Madrid, Milan, Frankfurt or London. The data centre will take advantage of its strategic location near the landing station of the ANJANA submarine cable, promoted by Meta, which connects Cantabria with South Carolina. This system, with 24 fibre pairs, is currently the submarine cable with the highest capacity in the world.” Juan Pepa, co-founder of Stoneshield Capital, underlines that “Stoneshield Capital, through XDC Properties, reaffirms its commitment to leading the digital transformation. We are developing efficient and sustainable data centres that are also drivers of economic growth. The growing global demand for services such as cloud, artificial intelligence, big data analysis and IoT is driving up infrastructure needs. Data centre revenue is projected to reach $200 billion in 2025 and $900 billion in 2037, driven by this digital transformation.”