Eni noted that the new data center campus is part of a broader strategic partnership between Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced earlier this year
In sum – what to know:
New AI hub planned – Khazna and Eni will jointly build a 500 MW data center campus in Lombardy region focused on AI and HPC workloads.
Sustainable energy source – The facility will be powered by low-carbon “Blue Power” from a gas plant with CO2 capture capabilities.
Bilateral initiative – The project stems from a UAE–Italy partnership aiming to develop 1 GW of IT capacity across the country.
Dubai-based Khazna Data Centers and Italian energy company Eni have signed a preliminary agreement with the aim of forming a joint venture to develop a large-scale AI data center campus in northern Italy.
In a release, Eni said that the planned site, located in Ferrera Erbognone, Lombardy, is expected to deliver up to 500 MW of IT capacity. The agreement — formalized through a Heads of Terms (HoT) document — outlines the roles, governance and shared goals of both companies.
The data center campus is part of a broader strategic partnership between Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced earlier this year. That collaboration aims to deploy up to 1 GW of digital infrastructure capacity across Italy, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC).
The Italian energy firm said that the new campus will be designed to support scalable, energy-efficient digital infrastructure to serve Europe’s growing demand for AI workloads. According to both companies, the development will prioritize sustainability and long-term resilience, combining Khazna’s experience in hyperscale data centers with Eni’s expertise in low-carbon energy.
Hassan Alnaqbi, CEO of Khazna Data Centers, said: “We’re proud to partner with Eni, a demonstrated energy leader, on this HoT, which represents a defining step in Khazna’s European expansion. Together with Eni, we are enabling the infrastructure needed for exponential AI growth — delivering the scale, sustainability and operational precision that next-generation compute demands.”
Guido Brusco, COO of global natural resources at Eni, added: “Through this partnership Eni and Khazna are jointly contributing to delivering a world-class hyperscale infrastructure, strategic for Italy and Europe, providing their distinctive capabilities in innovation, energy sustainability and rapid time-to-market.”
The pair explained that this new project will be powered by “blue power” from Eni, which refers to low-carbon electricity generated by a high-efficiency gas power plant that incorporates CO2 capture technology. If realized, the facility would be one of the first in Europe to combine data center infrastructure with integrated carbon reduction strategies at this scale, Eni said.
Khazna has previously announced two new data centers in the UAE. The two facilities will be located in Mafraq and Masdar City, providing a combined 60MW of capacity.
It is expected the data centers – AUH4 in Mafraq and AUH8 in Masdar City – will be fully completed in late December 2026 and August 2026, respectively.
Khazna launched a 31.8MW data center in Abu Dhabi in February 2024, known as AUH6, and also in Masdar City.
The company is backed by G42, and in April 2025 secured additional funding from MGX and Silver Lake, with the investment firms becoming minority shareholders in the business. It currently operates 30 data centers across the UAE and is also developing a facility in Egypt.
AI data centers are the backbone of modern machine learning and computational advancements. However, one of the biggest challenges these AI data centers face is the enormous power consumption they require. Unlike traditional data centers, which primarily handle storage and processing for standard enterprise applications, AI data centers must support intensive workloads such as deep learning, large-scale data analytics as well as real-time decision-making. In this article, RCR Wireless News explains why these facilities consume so much power.
