The European Union is entering a decisive phase in its digital and industrial policy with plans to allocate €20 billion to build large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. At the heart of this effort is the push for EU AI gigafactories, facilities designed to provide hyperscale computing capacity, data storage, and advanced AI model training capabilities. While Western and Southern Europe already host major data centres, Central and Eastern Europe remain underserved, despite favorable conditions such as colder climates, access to water resources, and governments eager to attract foreign direct investment.
A recent report from the International Energy Agency’s Energy and AI Observatory highlights this imbalance through an interactive mapping tool. It shows that most hubs with more than 500 megawatts (MW) of capacity are concentrated in Western Europe, while Central and Eastern Europe feature only smaller, scattered hubs and one planned large-scale facility in Poland. This lack of infrastructure leaves the region lagging behind in latency-sensitive services such as finance, AI applications, cloud services, and streaming. Addressing this gap is not just about performance; it is about digital sovereignty and strengthening Europe’s eastern flank against geopolitical uncertainty.
The development of AI-optimized data centres in Central and Eastern Europe would generate multiple benefits. Economically, they would create a modest number of high-value jobs and encourage the growth of local AI ecosystems. Strategically, they would reduce reliance on distant hubs, ensuring that businesses and public institutions in the region can access compute power without latency bottlenecks. Symbolically, such investments would signal to international investors that these countries are safe, modern, and technologically forward-looking, countering negative perceptions linked to their proximity to Russia.
The European Commission has announced that it received 76 expressions of interest from 16 countries for building EU AI gigafactories, though the applicants’ identities have been kept confidential. Nonetheless, it is known that Poland and the Baltic states submitted a joint bid, reflecting both ambition and caution. The Baltics remain concerned about overdependence on the Lumi AI factory in Finland, whose reach is limited by geographic and technical constraints. By joining forces with Poland, they aim to secure a facility closer to home while also building a regional ecosystem that could attract further private and public investment.
If approved, the new generation of EU AI gigafactories will set a global benchmark for efficiency and scale. These facilities will integrate advanced energy-efficient designs, vast computing power, and automation tools to enable the training of trillion-parameter AI models. They represent not just an incremental upgrade, but a transformative leap forward in Europe’s capacity to compete in the global AI race. Their deployment will ensure that Europe does not fall behind the United States and China, which are rapidly expanding their hyperscale AI compute infrastructure.
Ultimately, the decision on where to locate these facilities will shape Europe’s technological landscape for decades. For Poland and the Baltics, winning one of the four or five EU AI gigafactories would mark a turning point: a chance to anchor themselves as central players in Europe’s digital future, reinforce economic resilience, and strengthen the region’s role in safeguarding Europe’s digital sovereignty.