About SIN01, Start Campus’ New AI and HPC-Ready Data Centre

The first building of Europe’s gigascale campus is ready, with Start Campus inaugurating it on 4th April 2025. 

SIN01 is the first building of the 1.2 GW SINES Data Campus, a leading gigascale cloud, AI and HPC data centre campus. The facility boasts fully secured grid power and a ready-to-develop site. 

It cost €8.5 billion (US$9.69bn) in a privately funded project backed by Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Pioneer Point Partners.

The build seeks to position Portugal as a global leader in digital infrastructure and features 100% renewable energy use and sustainable seawater cooling to achieve a design Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.1 without consuming water.

“Today, Sines becomes home to the country’s largest operational data centre building – and it’s just the beginning,” says Robert Dunn, CEO of Start Campus. 

“SIN01 is the first chapter in Europe’s leading gigascale Cloud, AI and HPC data campus – built for the future, powered by renewables, and designed to scale.”

Scaling innovation and opportunity in Europe

Start Campus is a company that is focused on designing, building and operating a new generation of sustainable data centres.

Celebrating the official inauguration of SIN01, the building is the first operational facility within the company’s 1.2GW SINES Data Campus. As one of the largest private digital infrastructure investments in Europe, SIN01 is now the largest data centre facility ever commissioned in Portugal.

Located on the southwest coast of the country, the facility will almost double the country’s total data centre capacity and strengthen both Portugal and Europe’s digital infrastructure position globally.

Robert adds: “From day one, this project has been about collaboration – with customers, the community and the industry. Our state-of-the art facilities will strengthen the digital ecosystem, create new opportunities, attract talent, and provide a solid foundation for economic growth.

“We expect this campus to represent more than €8.5 billion in construction investment alone – and we anticipate our customers to invest multiples of that in infrastructure and technology deployments on-site.”

Once complete, the campus is expected to consist of six buildings across 1.2GW of capacity, with grid access already secured. The construction of the next 180MW facility (SIN02) is expected to begin later in 2025.

Positioning Portugal as a sustainable data centre leader

With this build in mind, the Portuguese government is eager to emphasise how the SINES Data Campus can act as a symbol of national ambition and forward-looking infrastructure policy.

“With this pioneering development, Sines is consolidating its position as a strategic hub. I welcome the ecosystems that have developed here, powered by renewable energy, which hold great potential for retaining talent,” says Miguel Pinto Luz, Minister for Infrastructure and Housing.

“There is an urgent need to combat the flight of qualified young professionals from Portugal. We cannot simply accept it.”

Pedro Reis, Minister of Economy, adds: “This is yet another structuring investment for the Portuguese economy, helping to place Portugal in a strategic position in the data economy, taking advantage of Sines' privileged geographical location. It is an investment deeply committed to sustainability, which will bring more qualified jobs, diversify economic activity in the region and contribute to the construction of a long-term digital ecosystem. 

“It joins other major investments that have demonstrated that Portugal is a country with a good value proposition for investors.”

When it comes to sustainable data centre development, SIN01 has been optimised to meet the high-performance demands of AI, hyperscale cloud and digital acceleration. As a result, Portugal is positioning itself as a low-carbon, high-availability power hub.

Currently, the country offers one of the most competitive energy environments in Europe, which is supported by a growing supply of renewable capacity. 

When it comes to the SIN01 facility, the SINES Data Campus offers subsea and terrestrial connectivity that aims to deliver competitive latencies to all strategic European and global economic centres. 

Likewise, enabling access to international fibre cables via carrier-neutral facilities, the campus hopes to enable seamless integration between submarine and terrestrial networks.

Robert adds: “From the edge of the Atlantic, we are building the backbone of Europe’s AI future,” said Dunn. “And we are proud that this begins here, in Sines, Portugal.”

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