The EU’s goal of ramping up data centre capacity is already driving more investment in nuclear energy projects as the bloc seeks to decarbonise and secure energy security at the same time, says the global investment firm. Europe’s desire to build as many data centres as quicky as possible could strengthen the argument to invest more in nuclear power as the bloc looks for more sustainable and reliable ways to power AI infrastructure, according to research by JP Morgan.
Data centres make up about 1.5% or 415 Terawatt-Hours (TWh) of the global energy consumption each year, with consumption projected to more than double to 945 TWh by 2030, driven primarily by AI computing needs.
In Europe alone, data centre electricity consumption is about 70 TWh and could rise to around 115 TWh by 2030, according to European Commission forecasts cited in the report.
However, JP Morgan expect an additional 89 TWh of annual European data centre power demand by 2030 compared with 2023, with Iberia and the Nordics accounting for about 45% of this growth.
Europe’s announced data centre pipeline stood at 66.1 GW at the end of 2025, compared with 10.8 GW of live capacity, according to research firm Aegir Insights.
The EU is aiming to triple data centre capacity by 2035, to strengthen its technological independence and digital sovereignty and put the bloc back in the race to develop cutting-edge technologies like AI.
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