CyrusOne, a leading global data centre developer and operator specialising in delivering digital infrastructure solutions, has announced plans to enter the Italian data centre market with its latest development in Milan, named MIL1.
The announcement follows its acquisition of an 18.5-acre site, strategically located in the Municipality of Segrate, East Milan, at the gateway between Italy, the rest of Europe and the Mediterranean basin.
The MIL1 data centre will deliver 27MW of IT capacity across 9,000 square metres of technical space within a single building over three floors. It will be delivered in three phases, with the first 9MW operational by Q3 2027.
“This is an exciting development for CyrusOne worldwide,” said Matt Pullen, EVP and Managing Director, Europe at CyrusOne. “Entering the Milan market is an important enabler for us to meet our hyperscale customers’ demand, offering capacity and choice across the continent. We have seen relatively low enterprise adoption of the cloud in this market to date, demonstrating there are long-term growth opportunities for us here.”
In the planning and development of this facility, CyrusOne has dedicated its efforts to support the local economy and prioritised opportunities for the community. In addition to the acquisition of the development site, it also completed the acquisition of a 658,628 square metre biodiverse plot, known as the Golfo Agricolo, which has been gifted to the Municipality of Segrate for community use.
“This is an important day for all of us in Segrate,” said Mayor Paolo Micheli. “At last, the Golfo Agricolo is ours, our children’s and grandchildren’s. The battle we won against cementing this area was right, courageous and determined, but also long, difficult and costly. We are delighted with this outcome which ensures that this area will remain an ecological area for the benefit of the people of Segrate today and in years to come.”
The collective commitment of the Municipality of Segrate and CyrusOne to the environment and the community is further demonstrated by CyrusOne’s pledge to install photovoltaic panels on certain municipal buildings within Segrate, the financing and delivery of important public works in the Redecesio district including a link road, and the redevelopment of Via delle Regioni to expand pedestrian walkways and to include dedicated cycling paths.
“We are delighted to have made our first strategic acquisition in the Italian market,” said Mark O’Keefe, Senior Director of Architecture at CyrusOne. “The site itself satisfies all the requirements for data centre development, including a pre-existing agreement for the provision of power. We look forward to working closely with the Municipality of Segrate to deliver a design aligned to the needs of the community and our own sustainability goals.”
Sustainability and biodiversity will play a central role in the new data centre which is designed to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ certification as a minimum and will utilise 100% renewable energy. It will be built ‘heat reuse ready’, initially recovering and utilising waste heat for use in ancillary spaces within the data centre and providing the option to distribute to local third parties where demand exists.
