One data centre in Brussels accounts for 3% of region’s electricity usage

A new data centre in Brussels’ Neder-Over-Heembeek neighbourhood is estimated to consume 140 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year in its first phase, accounting for approximately 3% of the capital’s total electricity consumption. 

From 2028, the same capacity will be added. The estimated water consumption is also considerable at 140,000 cubic metres per year.

“Brussels must now decide how many of such data centres it can accommodate, and investigate what grid investments are required to support them,” Brussels MP Lotte Stoops (Groen) warned.

“The first phase of this data centre alone accounts for 3% of all Brussels’ electricity, and a second phase is still to come. Every megawatt of connection capacity allocated to servers is one megawatt that can no longer be used by a hospital, a tram depot or a charging point.”

The ‘AI-ready’ KevlinX BRU01 data centre was completed at the end of last year and its commissioning will take place in two phases: an IT capacity of 16 megawatts is planned for the first phase, with commissioning expected shortly, and a second phase will expand the centre with an IT capacity of another 16 megawatts some time after 2028.

State secretary Audrey Henry (MR) defended the data centre, but Stoops noted that the overall consumption of electricity and water remains high.

“Brussels currently has no strategy for assessing such projects,” Stoops said. “As for the residual heat, there are good intentions, but no concrete plans yet.”

Henry said that KevlinX had signed a memorandum of understanding with energy grid operator Sibelga with a view to using it in a future district heating network. 

“The environmental permit stipulates that the installations must be designed in such a way that at least 75% of that heat can be recovered and that the necessary space for the associated equipment is set aside,” Henry wrote in a reply to questions regarding the data centre. 

Stoops believes that Brussels must develop a policy framework for data centres. 

“That framework must provide guarantees regarding water usage, the use of drinking water, and the possible use of PFAS in the cooling tower, and set out a concrete timetable for the reuse of residual heat,” Stoops said.

It is unclear how many more data centres are planned for Brussels. 

Ark Data Centre is planning another centre of a similar size in Brussels, but no precise location has been specified.

The company already has a site in the Brussels municipality of Ganshoren which is expected to be operational in 2027–2028.