News

Data centre cycling event returns to Cannes

The Data Center Cycling Club (DC.CC) will return to the French Riviera ahead of the Datacloud Global Congress 2026, bringing together riders from across the global data centre sector for a charity cycling challenge in Cannes. Now in its fourth year, the event will see 17 riders from nine companies complete a three-day route across the French Riviera between 29 May and 31 May 2026. Organisers say the event is intended to promote wellbeing, industry networking, and fundraising for charity. Founded by Tom Babbington, DC.CC has expanded each year since launching, with support from businesses across the data centre industry. This year’s routes begin in Cannes and include climbs and coastal roads across the region, including Col de la Madone, Gorges du Loup, the Mediterranean coastline, and Mont Vinaigre. Riders are expected to cover approximately 500km and 7,644m of elevation across the three days. The event will again be led by Marcus Cram, event manager and cyclist, alongside UK National Hill Climb Champion Rachel Galler, who will act as guide for the tour. Tom Babbington, Founder of DC.CC, says, “When I founded the Data Center Cycling Club, I believed our industry was full of people who love a challenge, love a cause, and love the opportunity to come together through cycling. “This event is about much more than the kilometres we ride; it’s about building connections across the industry and supporting a charity carrying out life-changing work for children and families.” DC.CC supports children’s medical research charity Funds raised through the 2026 event will go to Action Medical Research, a UK charity that funds medical research focused on children and babies. According to the charity, its research funding has contributed to developments including polio vaccines, meningitis treatment, and ultrasound scanning during pregnancy. Lucy Holloway, Corporate Partnerships & Events Management Executive at Action Medical Research, comments, “Support from initiatives like DC.CC helps us to continue funding the next generation of medical breakthroughs for babies, children, and families across the UK.” DC.CC first launched with the Tour of Europe ride from Amsterdam to Monaco, timed to coincide with the opening of Datacloud Global Congress. Organisers say participation has continued to grow since the inaugural event. This year’s event is supported by companies from across the data centre sector, including Adaptive MDC, Pentagon Technical Services, EAE Group, Ridge & Partners, Spa Communications, GagaMuller, Kolo DC, Zauner Group, and B + R Architects.

Pure DC secures $2.7bn AI data centre funding

Pure Data Centres Group (Pure DC), a designer, developer, and operator of hyperscale data centres, has secured $2.7 billion (£2 billion) in financing to support the expansion of its AI and hyperscale data centre infrastructure across Europe and the Middle East. The financing package includes a $2.15 billion (£1.5 billion) facility secured against the company’s campuses in Dublin and Amsterdam, alongside an increase in its corporate financing facility to $550 million (£408 million). The expanded financing structure includes support from financial institutions including SMBC, ABN AMRO, and Allianz Global Investors. According to Pure DC, the $2.15 billion (£1.5 billion) facility was syndicated within three months and will support continued development at its Dublin and Amsterdam sites. Construction is currently underway at the Amsterdam campus, which is fully leased. The company notes its Dublin campus recently became Europe’s first carbon net zero data centre microgrid. Located in the Ballycoolin area, the campus is designed to provide up to 150MW of IT capacity, with 54MW currently permitted. Expansion plans across FLAP-D and the Middle East Pure DC says the increase in its corporate financing facility will support investment in new FLAP-D sites and AI-focused data centre campuses across the region. The company states that the funding structure is intended to provide greater flexibility when securing sites and progressing future developments. The business is also targeting further expansion in the Middle East, which it identifies as a growth market for AI and hyperscale infrastructure over the coming decade. Gary Wojtaszek, Executive Chairman and interim CEO of Pure DC, comments, “Pure DC is rapidly positioning itself at the centre of Europe and the Middle East’s AI transformation, leveraging one of the region’s fastest-growing FLAP-D hyperscale platforms to deliver the next generation of AI inferencing infrastructure. “The support we’re seeing from leading global financial institutions reflects that. This funding demonstrates strong market confidence in Pure’s leadership team and strategy.” Mike Schwartz, Chief Financial Officer at Pure DC, adds, “Over the past 12 months, we have materially strengthened and diversified our financing platform, bringing in high-quality institutional partners and increasing available capital. “The successful syndication of the $2.15 billion facility and the expansion of our corporate facility demonstrate both the depth of market demand and the confidence lenders have in our assets, structure, and strategy. “Importantly, the combination of asset-level and corporate-level financing gives us the flexibility to accelerate investment across the business and act decisively as new opportunities arise.” For more from Pure DC, click here.

Schneider supplies AI infrastructure for Lake Mariner campus

Global energy technology company Schneider Electric and Motivair, a provider of liquid cooling systems for data centres, owned by Schneider Electric, have completed phased delivery of more than $290 million (£215 million) in AI infrastructure systems for TeraWulf at its Lake Mariner data centre campus in New York, USA. The companies say the project is focused on supporting scalable AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, with the Lake Mariner campus expected to support up to 750MW of power demand once fully developed. TeraWulf explains that the site is being redeveloped from a former industrial location into a data centre campus designed for AI, cloud, and HPC workloads, and that the project combines power infrastructure, cooling technologies, racks, monitoring systems, and engineering services from Schneider Electric and Motivair. The company adds that the campus benefits from access to existing power infrastructure and a regional electricity grid that is approximately 89% zero-carbon. Sean Farrell, Chief Operating Officer at TeraWulf, comments, “TeraWulf’s strategy is centred on delivering scalable, energy-efficient infrastructure capable of supporting the increasing intensity of AI and HPC workloads. "By working closely with industry leaders like Schneider Electric and Motivair, we are accelerating the development of AI-ready capacity at our Lake Mariner facilities while reinforcing the strong operational foundations needed to support long-term customer demand.” Project combines power, cooling, and monitoring systems Schneider Electric says the deployment included Galaxy VX UPS systems, lithium-ion battery systems, EcoStruxure IT Data Center Expert software, and NetShelter racks and enclosures. Meanwhile, Motivair supplied coolant distribution units (CDUs), in-rack manifolds, chilled door technologies, and associated support services. The companies state that the systems were delivered within a 12-month deployment timeframe as TeraWulf accelerated construction of its AI-ready data centre facilities. The Lake Mariner campus is also supported by long-term customer agreements with Core42 and Fluidstack, with the latter being backed by Google. Manish Kumar, Executive Vice President, Secure Power & Data Centers at Schneider Electric, notes, “As demand for AI infrastructure accelerates, ‘time to power’ has become a defining constraint on growth. "Operators need partners who can bring together advanced infrastructure, services, and expertise in energy technology to underpin large-scale AI data centre deployments at pace. “Our partnership with TeraWulf establishes a strategic blueprint for pairing on-site power, AI-enabled automation, advanced liquid cooling, and digital intelligence at a legacy industrial site. We are delivering resilient, efficient, and scalable data centre solutions at the speed and scale this AI era demands.” For more from Schneider Electric, click here.

LiquidStack expands GigaModular CDU capacity

LiquidStack, a US-based provider of liquid cooling technology for data centres, has expanded the scaling capabilities of its GigaModular CDU platform, with the system now validated for deployments of up to 14MW. The modular liquid cooling platform is designed for AI and high-density data centre environments, including infrastructure aligned with NVIDIA Vera Rubin specifications. LiquidStack says the architecture is intended to allow operators to expand cooling capacity incrementally without large-scale infrastructure redesigns. First introduced in June 2025, the GigaModular platform has now completed multi-module system integration and full-load testing. The company says the system has achieved ETL certification and has been released to manufacturing. The announcement comes amid continued growth in AI infrastructure demand and increasing pressure on data centre capacity. According to CBRE, the global weighted average data centre vacancy rate reached 6.6% during the first quarter of 2025. Modular cooling aimed at AI infrastructure growth LiquidStack says the platform has been designed to support phased AI infrastructure expansion through modular deployment and centralised controls. Key features of the GigaModular CDU platform include: • Centralised system controls intended to simplify operations and reduce infrastructure redundancy• Modular scaling designed to support phased AI deployment growth• Flexible cooling distribution architecture for changing rack densities and facility layouts• Support for high-density GPU environments and large-scale AI deployments• Global service support through Trane Technologies, LiquidStack's parent company Joe Capes, Vice President at Trane Technologies and General Manager of LiquidStack, says, “The challenge for AI infrastructure today is the ability to scale quickly and efficiently enough to keep pace with demand. "GigaModular was designed to remove the infrastructure constraints limiting AI growth through a centrally controlled, modular architecture built for system-level scalability, flexible deployment, and hyperscale AI expansion.” LiquidStack has also announced it will demonstrate the GigaModular platform at Datacloud Global Congress 2026, taking place from 2–4 June in Cannes, France. For more from LiquidStack, click here.

Huawei launches AI data centre infrastructure platform

Chinese multinational technology company Huawei has introduced a new full-stack data infrastructure platform designed for AI data centres and large-scale enterprise AI deployments. The announcement was made during the Huawei Innovative Data Infrastructure (IDI) Forum 2026 on 21 May in Paris, France, where Yuan Yuan, Vice President of Huawei and President of the company’s Data Storage Product Line, outlined the growing role of AI infrastructure in enterprise operations. According to Huawei, increasing adoption of AI agents and AI applications is driving significant growth in enterprise data processing and token consumption, requiring organisations to redesign traditional IT infrastructure around AI workloads. With this in mind, the company says its platform has been developed to support AI data lakes, inference systems, model deployment, agent frameworks, and data resilience. Platform targets large-scale AI workloads Huawei says the infrastructure platform combines storage, data management, model deployment, and AI orchestration technologies intended for enterprise and hyperscale AI environments. The company introduced updates across several areas of its AI infrastructure portfolio, including: • OceanStor Pacific Scale-Out Storage for high-density data storage• DME Omni-Dataverse unified data management platform• Context Memory Storage for AI inference environments• ModelEngine deployment and resource scheduling platform• Nexent AI agent framework• AI-focused data resilience and protection technologies Firstly, Huawei says its OceanStor Pacific storage platform can deliver 11PB of capacity within a 2U chassis, enabling massive data storage at "optimal total cost of ownership" (TCO), while DME Omni-Dataverse is designed to support multimodal and cross-site data management. The company also introduced its Context Memory Storage system, which it says is designed for large-scale inference clusters and can reportedly reduce time to first token by 90%. AI infrastructure evolves beyond compute alone Huawei states that AI infrastructure planning increasingly requires integration between storage, compute, models, and data management systems, rather than focusing solely on GPU capacity. The company says its ModelEngine platform supports model deployment and compute resource scheduling, including partitioning resources across multiple workloads. Huawei also introduced the Nexent agent platform, which is designed to allow AI agents to be generated through natural language interactions. “AI is unlocking new opportunities for the IT industry," says Yuan. "The next chapter of AI is data. "Committed to technological innovation in data storage, Huawei will accumulate the experience of industrial AI adoption and work closely with the entire industry to help customers accelerate their journey into the intelligent era." The company says the platform also includes technologies designed to address AI-related security risks including ransomware, data tampering, and data poisoning attacks. For more from Huawei, click here.

Why the inbox is becoming the weakest link in DC security

As AI accelerates demand for digital infrastructure, data centre operators are investing heavily in power, cooling, and resilience. Yet, while the industry focuses on physical infrastructure challenges, one of the most common and effective cyberattack methods remains far more familiar: email. In this exclusive article for DCNN, Billy McDiarmid, VP Customer Engineering at Red Sift, argues that phishing, impersonation, and supply-chain email attacks are becoming an increasingly serious risk for operators managing high-value AI workloads and complex partner ecosystems: Email security The data centre industry is in the middle of an unprecedented expansion that is unleashing economic growth across the United Kingdom, creating more than 43,000 jobs, according to Datum. Still, with AI workloads driving historic demand for power, cooling, and high-density computing, operators are racing to accommodate new capacity. As a result, the UK Government is fast tracking planning approvals, with entire regions repositioning themselves as AI infrastructure hubs through the UK’s AI Growth Zones. Yet, amid this rapid growth, the industry is overlooking a threat that is far more mundane than liquid cooling, grid constraints, or even expansion protests. For all the advancements of modern data centre design, the most common entry point for attackers going after network security is still the inbox. Today, email remains the primary vector for things like phishing, impersonation, and invoice fraud. As AI accelerates both the value of data centre workloads and the sophistication of cyberattacks, the gap between physical resilience and basic things like email security is becoming a critical vulnerability. Modern data centres are complex ecosystems of operators, contractors, equipment vendors, and service partners. Every one of these relationships is mediated through email, and when attackers impersonate a supplier, mimic an executive, or compromise a contractor’s mailbox, they gain a direct path into the operational heart of a facility. A single fraudulent email can trigger misconfigurations, grant unauthorised access, or divert critical payments. These are not hypothetical scenarios; they are the most common form of cyberattack across infrastructure-reliant industries, according to the NCSC. And the threat now extends beyond the inbox. Just last year, attackers created a domain impersonating a logistics platform used by UK freight brokers, causing significant operational disruption and financial losses, with estimates ranging from £40,000 to £160,000 per incident. AI is increasing the sophistication of attacks Now, with the cost of entry for bad actors at near zero, AI is only exacerbating the problem. Attackers can now generate highly convincing phishing messages tailored to specific individuals, roles, or organisations. They can scrape public data to mimic writing styles, automate reconnaissance, and craft messages that bypass traditional filters. Deepfake audio and video add another layer of credibility to fraudulent requests. The result is an environment where even experienced professionals struggle to distinguish legitimate communication from malicious intent. At the same time, the value of what sits inside data centres has never been higher. AI models, training datasets, and proprietary algorithms represent some of the most valuable intellectual property in the world. A breach that once disrupted a handful of virtual machines can now compromise entire AI pipelines. This makes data centre operators and their supply chains irresistible targets. And because email is the easiest and cheapest attack vector to exploit, it is where attackers focus their efforts. Email security must become baseline infrastructure protection The industry has invested heavily in physical security, redundancy, and environmental resilience. Ironically, email security has not kept pace. For the UK, this is not just a corporate hygiene issue; it is about network security and ensuring trust behind the country’s most iconic industries. Enforcing modern email authentication standards, such as email security across data centre operators and their supply chains, must be treated as a baseline security requirement, not an optional control left to individual organisations. Unfortunately, according to a recent analysis at Red Sift, over 39% of the top organisations in the UK are not enforcing DMARC. With foreign threats on the rise, the status quo that viewed email security as 'nice to have' is no longer tenable. It is a real world infrastructure risk, just like locking the front door to the building. If an attacker can impersonate a trusted partner, they can influence operational decisions. If they can compromise a contractor’s account, they can gain access to sensitive systems. And because data centre operations depend on a vast network of suppliers, these standards must extend across the entire ecosystem, not just within the operator’s perimeter. Regulation is pushing security higher up the agenda Recent regulations are starting to move in this direction. The UK Government, as well as those around Europe, are tightening requirements around identity verification, communication security, and supply-chain resilience. It is also pushing forward on the Cyber Security and Resilience bill, an important step in this direction. As AI becomes more central to national infrastructure, these expectations will only grow. Operators who invest early in robust email security will be better positioned to meet emerging compliance demands and to reassure customers that their most sensitive workloads are protected. Enterprises choosing where to host their AI workloads want to know that partners are resilient not only in physical infrastructure but in digital channels as well. The future of data centre resilience depends on recognising that the inbox is not a theoretical risk; it is the front line, just as the security guard out front is. As the AI era accelerates, the industry must build not only bigger and more efficient facilities, but safer and more trustworthy communication systems. Email may be one of the oldest technologies in the digital world, but securing it is one of the most urgent challenges facing the data centre sector today.

EDGE Modular launches containerised data centres

EDGE Modular has launched globally, expanding its containerised data centre offering for edge computing, telecoms, and remote infrastructure deployments. The New Zealand-based company, a division of Edge Defence, designs and manufactures modular data centre systems intended for rapid deployment in locations where traditional construction may be impractical or time-consuming. According to EDGE Modular, the systems are aimed at organisations requiring scalable infrastructure for edge computing and localised data processing. The company says its modular approach allows systems to be manufactured, tested, and deployed more quickly than conventional brick-and-mortar facilities, while also supporting future expansion through scalable designs. John Gell, General Manager at EDGE Modular, explains, “Our mission is to provide innovative, containerised data centre solutions tailored to the unique needs of each client. "We ensure efficiency, quality, and flexibility for future growth in every project we undertake.” Modular infrastructure for edge computing EDGE Modular’s portfolio includes containerised data centres in 10ft, 20ft, and 40ft formats, alongside telecom exchange units, command and control rooms, battery storage systems, and specialist workshop environments. The company states that its infrastructure is designed for deployment in remote and challenging environments, with systems transportable via road, rail, or sea using standard shipping container logistics. EDGE Modular also says its systems are designed for concurrent maintainability, allowing maintenance work to be carried out without interrupting critical operations. In addition to manufacturing, the company provides infrastructure consultancy, system design services, and maintenance support for deployed installations.

Vultr launches Milan cloud data centre region

Vultr, a privately held cloud infrastructure company, has launched a new cloud data centre region in Milan, expanding its European footprint to nine locations. The Milan site becomes Vultr’s 33rd global cloud data centre region and was announced during AI Week 2026 at Fiera Milano Rho. The company is also participating in the event as a platinum sponsor and co-host of the AI Agent Olympics Hackathon. Vultr says the Milan region will provide access to its AI and cloud infrastructure portfolio, including its VX1 cloud compute platform, bare metal services, and GPU infrastructure based on technologies from NVIDIA and AMD. The company states that the new region is intended to support workloads including AI, SaaS platforms, databases, analytics, ERP applications, microservices, and APIs. Milan joins Vultr’s existing European regions in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Manchester, Madrid, Paris, Stockholm, and Warsaw. Milan expansion targets AI and enterprise demand According to Vultr, the Milan region is designed to provide low-latency connectivity for European users while supporting increasing demand for AI and cloud infrastructure services. The company says its global network is positioned to reach 90% of the world’s population within 2–40 milliseconds. J.J. Kardwell, CEO of Vultr, comments, “Italy is one of Europe's fastest-growing cloud infrastructure markets, and Milan is at the heart of it. Vultr is here because the enterprises and developers driving that growth need high-performance cloud infrastructure without the cost and complexity of the traditional hyperscalers. "This is a long-term investment in Italy and in European AI innovation." Vultr has also connected its Autonomous System Number (ASN) to the Milan Internet Exchange (MIX) to support local traffic routing, lower latency, and increased regional bandwidth capacity. The company says its cloud compute platform supports configurations ranging from two to 192 vCPUs. For more from Vultr, click here.

Zayo Europe expands network into Genoa

Network infrastructure provider Zayo Europe has expanded its Southern European network with a new point of presence (PoP) in Genoa, Italy, strengthening connectivity between Mediterranean subsea cable systems and its terrestrial fibre network. The new point of presence is located within Quadrivium Digital’s QGEN01 facility and extends Zayo Europe’s existing Italian footprint alongside sites in Milan and Rome. According to the company, Genoa is becoming an increasingly important landing point for subsea cable systems connecting Europe with Asia (including the Middle East) and Africa. Zayo Europe says the expansion is intended to support growing traffic flows across the Mediterranean region while providing alternative connectivity routes into major European hubs including Frankfurt and Paris, as well as interconnection points in Barcelona and Lisbon. Subsea connectivity expanding network diversity The company states that the new route options are designed to provide additional network diversity and reduce reliance on traditional connectivity routes through Marseille. Quadrivium Digital says the deployment also gives customers within the QGEN01 facility direct access to Zayo Europe’s wider network and more than 600 connected data centres across Europe. Aditya Ayyagari, CEO of Quadrivium Digital, comments, “This partnership positions QGEN01 as a key interconnection hub in the Mediterranean ecosystem. “By combining direct access to new subsea systems with Zayo Europe’s diverse terrestrial routes, we are enabling customers to efficiently reach key traffic hubs like Barcelona and Lisbon, as well as the US, while achieving greater route diversity and lower latency across global networks.” Colman Deegan, CEO of Zayo Europe, adds, “The digital map of Europe is evolving and our expansion into Genoa is a direct response to our customers’ need for greater resilience and choice. “By connecting this important Mediterranean landing point to our 400G-enabled backbone, we are creating a seamless bridge between subsea systems and our terrestrial infrastructure. "Ultimately, this ensures our customers have access to the scalable, high-capacity connectivity required to support the next wave of cloud and AI-driven growth.” For more from Zayo Europe, click here.

NEC completes Pacific submarine cable system

Japanese multinational technology company NEC Corporation has completed construction of the East Micronesia Cable System (EMCS), a submarine cable network linking the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, and Nauru. The approximately 2,250km cable system connects Tarawa in Kiribati to Nauru, before extending to Kosrae and Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. The infrastructure has now been handed over to FSM Telecommunications Cable Corporation, Bwebweriki Net Limited, and Cenpac Corporation. According to NEC, the project provides the first optical submarine cable connection for Kosrae, Tarawa, and Nauru, which had previously relied primarily on satellite communications. The company says the new cable system is designed to improve internet connectivity, reliability, and latency across the region, supporting applications including video communications and digital payment services. Submarine cable boosts regional connectivity The EMCS project was supported by the governments of Australia, Japan, and the United States through grant funding initiatives focused on Pacific infrastructure development. Gordon Segal, Chief Executive Officer of FSM Telecommunications Cable Corporation and Chairman of the EMCS Management Committee, comments, “Kosrae was the only state in the FSM without a submarine cable connection. "We are truly delighted that the construction of the EMCS has now provided digital connectivity to all four states of the FSM. “This infrastructure development not only advances the digitalisation of the regional economy, but also dramatically improves residents' access to information and services. "NEC's strong execution capabilities and high reliability have been essential to the project’s success, and we hold them in high regard.” Bwanouia Aberaam, Officer in Charge of Bwebweriki Net, adds, “We are pleased to see the completion of resilient communications infrastructure in Kiribati and the Micronesia region. "With this vital foundation supporting the digitalisation of the regional economy now in place, access to diverse information and essential services will significantly improve going forward.” Zikki Eoe, Chairlady of Cenpac Corporation, notes, “This project is Nauru's first undersea cable, enabling the provision of high-speed, reliable internet services to residents. We have high expectations that this will significantly accelerate Nauru's economic development and digitalisation going forwards.” Tomonori Uematsu, Managing Director of NEC’s Submarine Network Division, concludes, “We are truly delighted to have completed this new telecommunications infrastructure in the Pacific Island region. "We consider it a highly significant achievement that NEC's long-established optical submarine cable technology has helped strengthen the region's communications environment, contributing to the realisation of safe and prosperous lives.” NEC states that it has installed more than 400,000km of submarine cable infrastructure globally during its 60 years in the sector.