Global management consultancy Roland Berger has released a major new study on the accelerating race to build AI-scale data infrastructure, identifying the opportunities for Europe in the data centre market, even as the continent continues to fall behind the US and China in the build-out of next-generation AI facilities.
While Europe has constraints in grid access, energy costs and regulatory complexity, the study reveals that it also holds a significant – and often overlooked – advantage: an advanced supplier base capable of capturing substantial value from the global AI infrastructure boom.
Crucially, the report finds that Europe’s share of global installed data centre capacity is set to fall from 13% today to around 10% by 2030 – a decline that risks undermining the continent’s competitiveness in AI and wider industrial innovation.
As such, to keep pace with the scale of global investment – and to solve the growing power challenge without compromising environmental commitments – Europe will need structural reform across permitting, grid access and energy policy.
At the same time, the study highlights that Europe retains a significant advantage in its supplier ecosystem: companies specialising in power electronics, power distribution, advanced cooling and on site electricity generation are already central to the global AI infrastructure supply chain and well positioned to capture substantial value from the worldwide build out.
Commenting on the report, Michael Knott, Partner at Roland Berger said:
“AI is now an infrastructure race – and Europe is not keeping pace. The US is accelerating rapidly, supported by faster grid connections, lower energy costs and a more enabling regulatory environment. Europe’s constraints are structural, not cyclical. Without decisive reform, the continent will struggle to match the scale of investment and capacity growth needed to remain competitive in the AI era.
Every year of delay widens the gap and raises the cost of catching up.”
Siyi Hao, Principal at Roland Berger said:
“This is now a pivotal moment for Europe. The continent’s ability to participate meaningfully in this growth will depend on whether policymakers and industry leaders can act decisively: removing structural barriers, unlocking grid access, and enabling the continent’s supplier ecosystem to compete on a global stage. Europe still has a window of opportunity, but it is narrowing fast.”
