Black & White: Spain's Growing Data Centre Opportunity

Spain is rapidly becoming one of Europe's most closely watched data centre markets.

Driven by hyperscale investment and its strategic role as a digital gateway between Europe, Africa and Latin America, the country is attracting a wave of infrastructure development.

For engineering firms, success depends on having technical expertise on the ground instead of supporting projects remotely.

That shift is behind Black & White Engineering's latest expansion, with the engineering design consultancy establishing a presence in Madrid to support data centre customers across Spain and the wider European market.

The move reflects the growing importance of Spain as a destination for mission-critical infrastructure investment.

By bringing civil, structural, MEP and design management expertise closer to customers, the consultancy aims to support projects throughout their lifecycle while maintaining its integrated global delivery model.

Supporting one of Europe's fastest-growing markets

Spain is emerging as an attractive location for data centre investment, helped by improving connectivity and renewable energy availability from cloud providers looking to expand capacity beyond Europe's established hubs.

Black & White Engineering says its Madrid presence is intended to strengthen support for customers developing projects in the region while reinforcing its broader European operations.

Leading the consultancy's growth across southern Europe is Marcos Uttley, Regional Director, Europe.

His experience spans engineering, infrastructure, real estate development and design consultancy across Spain, Portugal, Italy, the UK, Germany and the US.

Marcos says: "Spain is an important market for data centre investment and gives us a strong base from which to support clients locally and across wider Europe.

"The Madrid office reflects our continued focus on building depth in key markets while drawing on the technical experience of our global team.

"What stood out to me about Black & White Engineering was its culture, growth and the clarity of the business strategy.

"The opportunity is to build on that by creating long-term value for clients, strengthening our European offer and making sure we have the right technical expertise close to the markets we serve."

The consultancy says the strategy combines local engineering capability with access to its wider international teams, allowing specialists across multiple disciplines to support complex data centre developments.

Local expertise for complex data centre projects

Heading the Madrid operation is Hector Hernandez, Area Director, Spain, who brings more than two decades of experience delivering critical infrastructure projects across Europe, the Middle East, Australia and the Americas.

His background includes hyperscale and colocation data centres, covering advisory services, engineering design, construction, commissioning and operational delivery. Hector is also an Accredited Tier Designer with the Uptime Institute.

He says: "The opportunity to build Black & White Engineering's presence in Spain from the ground up was a major draw.

"The market here is developing quickly and clients need advisers who understand both the technical demands of these projects and the local delivery environment."

As Spain's data centre pipeline expands, developers are looking for engineering partners that can combine international experience with knowledge of local regulations, supply chains and project delivery.

With that being said, Black & White Engineering is continuing to grow its specialist team in Spain while keeping projects connected to expertise from across its global network.

"My focus is on establishing Black & White Engineering as a recognised name in Spain. That means building a strong local team, developing trusted client relationships and delivering work that shows the value of specialist data centre engineering expertise close to clients," Hector adds.

The expansion builds on the consultancy's wider international growth.

Black & White Engineering employs more than 1,200 people worldwide and specialises in designing mission-critical buildings and infrastructure, with data centres forming a core part of its global portfolio.

By strengthening its presence in Spain, the company is positioning itself to support the country's next phase of digital infrastructure development as investment across the market continues to accelerate.