Amsterdam

Overview

Amsterdam is one of the most established data centre markets in the world thanks to its geographic position as a gateway to Europe and its world-class internet exchanges, particularly AMS-IX. Major growth was seen between 2010 and 2018 and was then curtailed by a moratorium in 2019. Since the moratorium was lifted in 2020, development has picked up but the rate of activity has reduced with other markets offering strong alternatives.

As with other markets, power availability is a particular challenge for the Amsterdam market, with demand for electricity outstripping supply and leading to ‘traffic jams’ on the power grid. For data centres, power supply is affecting the market with many power distributions firms saying that they have no power available until 2030, thus limiting development.

Significantly, since the start of 2024, an amended decree has meant that no new hyperscale data centres (<10 hectares/70+ MW) are allowed to be constructed in the Netherlands, except for a few locations in the municipalities of Het Hogeland (e.g. Eemshaven) and Hollands Kroon (e.g. Agriport). Further regulation is planned for the Municipality of Amsterdam with a recent draft umbrella zoning plan suggesting that 350 MVA is the new maximum connection capacity within the municipality until 2030. Additionally, new data centres will not be allowed unless (a) it is for the benefit of Amsterdam, (b) the data centre would not cause additional grid congestion and (c) sustainability conditions are met (energy, water & heat).

While growth may be more measured than in other regions, Amsterdam's reputation as a critical hub for data centres will remain.