Google Farciennes AI-Ready Data Center Campus
Status: Under Construction | Location: Rue de la Neuville 21, 6240 Farciennes, Belgium
Project Overview
The Google Farciennes Data Center Campus represents Google’s second major infrastructure investment in Belgium, located within the Ecopôle eco-business park in Wallonia, Farciennes. Backed by a strategic €1 billion ($1.1 billion USD) capital deployment, this massive three-building, 53,000-square-meter facility is engineered from the ground up to address the skyrocketing demands of European artificial intelligence processing, sovereign cloud scalability, and distributed high-performance computing (HPC) networks. The campus architecture is heavily customized to support the physical and thermal requirements of modern graphics processing unit (GPU) clusters. To handle the dense heat dissipation from these workloads while adhering to strict Western European environmental standards, Google has integrated a highly efficient, closed-loop air-based cooling setup paired with direct-to-chip liquid cooling manifolds. This localized mechanical framework allows the facility to bypass heavy water evaporation systems, drastically lowering local water consumption and enabling the massive site to target an ultra-efficient Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.15.
Quick Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Project Name | Google Farciennes AI-Ready Data Center Campus |
| Location | Rue de la Neuville 21, 6240 Farciennes, Belgium |
| Status | Under Construction |
| Commissioning | Q1 2027 (Phase 1 Go-Live) |
| Total IT Load | 240 MW |
| Total Capacity | 300 MW (Full buildout allocation across three buildings) |
| Tier Level | Tier III Compliant |
| Project Type | Hyperscale Cloud & AI Infrastructure Center |
City Profile
| Header | Details |
|---|
| City Name | Farciennes |
| Population | Approximately 11,500 |
| Urban Agglomeration | Approximately 610,000 (Charleroi Metropolitan Area) |
| City GDP | Approximately USD 0.4–0.6 billion (local municipal estimate; part of the larger Charleroi economy) |
| Per Capita Income | Approximately USD 33,000–36,000 |
| City Tier | Tier 4 Emerging Industrial Municipality |
| Key Strengths | Strategic location in Wallonia, proximity to Charleroi, access to major highways and rail networks, industrial redevelopment, logistics potential, skilled manufacturing workforce, access to Belgian and EU markets, and growing renewable energy initiatives. |
Companies Involved
| Header | Details |
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| Developer / Operator | Google |
| Strategic Infrastructure Partner | Elia (Transmission System Operator) & Wallonia Regional Dev Agency |
| Construction Contractor | To be finalized (Top-tier European Mission-Critical GC) |
| MEP Engineering | To be finalized (Specialized Global Data Center MEP Consultants) |
| Network Connectivity | Inter-Europe Fiber Networks, Diverse Belgian Dark Fiber Links |
| Power Infrastructure | Dedicated on-site high-voltage transmission substation tied directly to Elia's high-capacity grid with active load-balancing protocols. |
Technical Specifications
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| Power Capacity | 300 MW total utility power allocation |
| UPS Redundancy | Distributed Reserve / Block Redundant static UPS systems |
| Cooling System | Advanced air-based free cooling loops and direct-to-chip liquid cooling manifolds |
| Connectivity | Carrier-neutral, multiple diverse dark fiber entry pathways |
| PUE Target | 1.15 |
| Energy Mix | 100% Carbon-Free Energy via regional Wind and Solar PPAs |
Milestones
| Header | Details |
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| Announcement | Q2 2024 |
| Construction Start | Q3 2025 |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | Q1 2027 |
| Full Buildout | Q4 2029 |
Investment Details
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| Total Investment | €1,000,000,000 ($1.1 Billion USD) |
| Funding | Corporate Capital Expenditure |