Polski
Grid, Map, and Nitrogen: What's Driving Data Center Growth in Fall 2026
Three stories this week, one common thread: power, location, and cooling are what determine where - and how fast - data centers grow today. We look at how Poland is preparing its transmission grid for the future, where investors are fleeing to from a congested Western Europe, and what - besides water - can now be used to cool a server room running AI workloads.
01 · Energy
PSE Bets on 20-Fold Power Growth by 2040
Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne has announced a transmission grid expansion plan designed to handle the surging power demand from data centers [1]. The sector currently draws around 250 MW in Poland, but according to PSE forecasts, that figure could grow twentyfold by 2040, reaching 5 GW. To support this growth, the operator plans to build nearly 5,000 km of new 400 kV lines [1] - an investment on a scale comparable to the largest infrastructure projects of recent decades.
These aren't just projections on paper. The data center sector already generates PLN 10.6 billion in added value in Poland and accounts for around 41,000 jobs [1]. The environmental angle is also worth noting: as much as 87% of domestic data centers have contracted green energy [1], showing that the industry's growth is going hand in hand with the energy transition rather than against it. The signal for investors and operators is clear: energy security and access to power are becoming just as important a location criterion today as fiber connectivity or the availability of skilled talent.
02 · European Market
Europe Is Fleeing Frankfurt, London, and Amsterdam
Speaking of locations - data for the second quarter of 2026 shows that the European market is undergoing a clear reorganization [2]. Of the roughly 700 MW of new data center capacity added during this period, as much as 63% went to locations outside the traditional "big five" FLAP-D markets, namely Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin [2]. The reason is mundane and well known in Poland too: in these cities, queues for grid connection now stretch up to ten years, which in practice rules investors out of the game.
The biggest beneficiaries of this capital migration right now are the Nordic countries - worth mentioning here is Nebius's eight-billion investment in Finland - and Spain, where Amazon has announced spending of around EUR 33.7 billion in Aragon [2]. The same mechanism - fleeing congested, overloaded Western European markets in favor of countries offering faster grid access - is also working in Poland's favor, which fits perfectly with PSE's ambitious plans described above [1][2]. In other words: whoever secures grid connection capacity first is the one landing the biggest data center investments today.
03 · AI Cooling
Liquid Nitrogen Instead of Water - a New Trend in AI Cooling
With power and location increasingly secured, the question that remains is how to physically cool the increasingly dense and energy-hungry workloads driven by AI. Enter Reflect Scientific, a company with more than twenty years of experience in cryogenic technologies, which has unveiled a patented liquid-nitrogen-based temperature control technology designed specifically for server rooms running AI workloads [3].
The solution is designed to reduce water consumption and noise levels while eliminating the need for conventional mechanical cooling systems [3]. The company has already reported its first preliminary request for proposal from a partner in the western United States [3], suggesting the technology has moved beyond the purely laboratory stage. This is a clear signal that pressure to cut data centers' water use - an issue increasingly raised by local communities and regulators around the world - is genuinely driving the search for alternatives to traditional water-based and mechanical cooling.
Summary
Summary
This week revealed three sides of the same puzzle: the transmission grid has to keep up with data centers' growing appetite for power, investors are voting with their feet for wherever that power is available faster, and cooling technologies are looking for ways to scale without excessive water and energy consumption. All of these threads - energy, market expansion, and cooling infrastructure - will come together at DATA CENTER Expo Poland – Targi Technologii i Infrastruktury dla Branży Data Center. Stay tuned for more roundups, and join us on-site for direct conversations with industry experts.
Invitation
Energy, global expansion, and innovative AI cooling - these are the topics we'll be exploring on-site, alongside grid operators, data center developers, and cooling technology providers. If you're planning an investment in Poland's digital infrastructure or looking for technology partners, DATA CENTER Expo Poland – Targi Technologii i Infrastruktury dla Branży Data Center is the place where you'll meet the market's key players. Save the date and join the conversation about the future of Polish data centers.
DATA CENTER Expo Poland 2026Footnotes
[1] KierunekEnergetyka.pl — https://www.kierunekenergetyka.pl/artykul,118777,centra-danych-nowym-elementem-bezpieczenstwa-moc-w-sieciach-elektroenergetycznych-zostanie-zabezpieczona-na-20-krotny-wzrost.html[2] TheNextWeb — https://thenextweb.com/news/europe-data-centres-leaving-flap-d-grid-queues-land
[3] GlobeNewswire — https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/15/3362008/0/en/reflect-scientific-announces-liquid-nitrogen-cooling-technology-for-ai-data-center-applications.html