ELV & ICT Design by Country
Market and Regulation Notes
Country-by-country notes on the data centre, grid, cybersecurity and energy rules that affect ELV, ICT and security design across Europe. Each note links to the sources it is based on.
Regulation changes quickly and figures in published reports often differ. Confirm the current text and the authority for your project before relying on any threshold.
Choose a Country
ELV & ICT Design in Germany
Market. Frankfurt is the main data centre hub. Live capacity estimates range from about 1 GW to 1.5 GW, depending on the source and its definitions. Grid connection delays are pushing new projects into the surrounding areas.
Rules that shape design. The Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) applies to data centres with a non-redundant connection of 300 kW or more. Under the current text as reported, existing facilities must reach a PUE of 1.5 from 1 July 2027. New facilities must average a PUE of 1.2 or less and reuse waste heat. Continuous monitoring of essential components has applied since 1 July 2025, and waste-heat data is reported each year by 31 March. A June 2026 cabinet draft would relax some targets. Check whether it has passed.
Design angle for ASDV. Monitoring is a design requirement here, not an add-on. Plan IT and facility metering, BMS and DCIM data points, and the heat-recovery metering the reporting needs. Fire alarm systems are designed to DIN 14675 where the project specifies it.
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ELV & ICT Design in Netherlands
Market. Amsterdam's growth is limited by grid capacity. A 2025 moratorium has reportedly been replaced by a stricter framework, and large new developments remain slow. TenneT has warned that its network is near capacity, and new connections were paused for six months in Utrecht (reported). Growth is moving to sites such as Middenmeer (Hollands Kroon) and Rotterdam.
Rules that shape design. The searches did not confirm one national rule set for data centres. Size restrictions were reported after complaints from provinces and municipalities about grid strain. Check municipal policy and the grid operator's notices for each site.
Design angle for ASDV. Plan power-limited campuses in phases. Design the backbone, containment and monitoring to scale, so later halls connect without re-cabling the core. One Amsterdam permit shows how a campus can be approved in stages, with later towers waiting for grid upgrades.
Sources:
- Cushman & Wakefield: EMEA data centre update, April 2026
- NL Times: Amsterdam Zuidoost construction permit, July 2026
- DutchNews: campaign against the Amsterdam data centre, August 2026
Netherlands page on ASDV · Phased ELV design for large campuses
ELV & ICT Design in Ireland
Market. Dublin is the most constrained grid area. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) published its final Large Energy User connection policy in December 2025, which reopened data centre connections on conditions. Reporting on the policy says it makes further data centres in and around Dublin less likely, because the policy favours unconstrained grid locations.
Rules that shape design. Under the reported policy: sites of 10 MVA and above must provide dispatchable on-site or nearby generation and/or storage covering 100% of their maximum import capacity, separately connected and metered, and trading in the wholesale market. Sites from 1 to 10 MVA must provide an auto-producer unit. Sites above the de minimis threshold must source at least 80% of annual demand from renewable electricity within six years. Sources differ on the wording of the renewable test, so check the CRU decision paper.
Design angle for ASDV. On-site generation and storage add monitoring, control and metering points that the ELV and BMS design must carry. Separate metering zones, secure OT networks for generation controls, and integration with the building management system all need to be designed in. Fire detection follows IS 3218, as set out on the Ireland page.
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Ireland page on ASDV · Data centre ELV and ICT design Europe
ELV & ICT Design in Portugal
Market. Sines is the main hyperscale hub. Microsoft announced an AI infrastructure investment of about US$10 billion there in November 2025, with Start Campus, Nscale and NVIDIA. Start Campus plans a campus of up to about 1.2 GW of IT capacity across six buildings. Reports from March 2026 describe the first building as operational and a second under construction for completion in 2027. Later progress was not found in this pass.
Rules that shape design. No data-centre-specific rule was confirmed in the searches. Check the national telecommunications rules for buildings and any site-specific approvals.
Design angle for ASDV. Campus-scale design dominates here. Plan the backbone across several buildings, campus-wide access control and perimeter security, and site-wide monitoring. The subsea cable connectivity and renewable energy near Sines are the reasons the site is attractive, so resilience and diverse routing matter.
Sources:
- Essential Business: Start Campus and the Microsoft centre in Sines, March 2026
- DCD: Microsoft to spend $10bn on AI data centres in Portugal
Portugal page on ASDV · Data centre ELV and ICT design Europe
ELV & ICT Design in Poland
Market. Poland is now the largest data centre market in Central and Eastern Europe. Commercial capacity passed 200 MW in 2024, more than a third of the region. Warsaw holds about 74% of available power and about 70% of colocation space. Kraków, Poznań, Gdańsk, Wrocław and Łódź are growing. Data4 opened a 10 MW site near Warsaw in April 2026. The grid operator has reserved capacity for up to 1.2 GW of new data centres by 2034 (reported).
Rules that shape design. The amended cybersecurity act (KSC) took effect on 3 April 2026 and implements NIS2. Data centre service providers are in scope. Entities have 12 months from that date to implement the measures, and essential entities must complete their first security audit within 24 months. One aggregator gives a different signing date, so check the official text in Dziennik Ustaw.
Design angle for ASDV. NIS2 supply-chain duties affect the ELV specification. Document vendor security requirements, secure remote access for integrators, and an OT asset register. The same register supports the incident-response plan.
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ELV & ICT Design in Denmark
Market. Greater Copenhagen is growing. In May 2026 NKT agreed to connect three new data centres to the grid, through separate 50 kV or 132 kV cable routes. Grid strain has been reported, and a May 2026 report said restrictions on new data centres were being considered. No decision was found.
Rules that shape design. NIS2 was implemented in sector laws: the Energy Act took effect on 7 March 2025, and the general NIS2 Act and telecom rules on 1 July 2025 (as reported). The Commission sent a reasoned opinion in May 2025 over late transposition, and a January 2026 report says the directive is now implemented. Supervision is split between the Danish Business Authority and the Danish Energy Agency.
Design angle for ASDV. Grid-limited campuses need phased design and metering that shows the load each phase draws. Confirm early whether the facility is in NIS2 scope and which authority supervises it, since that changes the security and logging requirements.
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ELV & ICT Design in Sweden
Market. Stockholm and Kista are the core hub. Colocation capacity is concentrated in a few operators. atNorth is building a 30 MW metro site (SWE02) in Kista, with a reported go-live in Q4 2027, and Barings extended its Vanda 3 lease with a further 30 MW of power (reported July 2026). Investors cite stable power and available land as the main draws.
Rules that shape design. The Cybersecurity Act (2025:1506) took effect on 15 January 2026 and replaced the NIS Act (2018:1174). It covers 18 sectors, with entities classed as essential or important. Registration opened on 2 February 2026. Detailed sector rules were still being issued at the time of the sources. Separately, data centres of 500 kW IT power and above must report energy data each year under Swedish law 2025:570.
Design angle for ASDV. The NIS2 and energy-reporting duties can share one monitoring architecture. Design the OT network, logging and remote access once, and use it for both security evidence and energy data.
Sources:
- Netnod: the Cybersecurity Act is in force
- Energimyndigheten: new Cybersecurity Act enters into force
- Energimyndigheten: data centre energy performance reporting
- Baxtel: atNorth plans 30 MW data centre in Stockholm
Sweden page on ASDV · EU data centre energy reporting · NIS2 and building OT security
ELV & ICT Design in Finland
Market. Helsinki is the leading hub for existing and planned facilities. Kajaani and Espoo have the most concrete projects. YIT agreed in June 2026 to build the shell and core of a third XTX Markets data centre in Kajaani. A German trade-agency table lists a 250 MW project in Kajaani at investment-decision stage, and about 480 MW across three sites near Espoo with first phases from 2027. Forecasts vary widely, so treat the totals as pipeline rather than operating capacity.
Rules that shape design. The Cybersecurity Act (124/2025) took effect on 8 April 2025 and implements NIS2 at the minimum level. Management bodies of essential and important entities must approve and oversee risk measures and can be held liable. Entities must also consider the security of their direct suppliers' products and services.
Design angle for ASDV. Supplier security and management sign-off are the design points. Keep a documented list of vendor components, and make OT risk measures visible to the management body that signs them off.
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ELV & ICT Design in Belgium
Market. Google announced a €5 billion investment covering 2026 and 2027, expanding its campus in Saint-Ghislain and adding 300 jobs. Google says its total Belgian investment has passed €11 billion since its first site opened in 2007. The announcement dates from October 2025. No Brussels-specific data centre trend was found in this pass.
Rules that shape design. The Belgian NIS2 Act of 26 April 2024 has applied since 18 October 2024. Scope depends on the services listed in Annexes I and II and on size: at least 50 full-time staff, or turnover or balance sheet above €10 million. Check the annexes before concluding whether a given data centre operator is in scope.
Design angle for ASDV. Campus-scale design around Saint-Ghislain-type sites. Confirm NIS2 scope from the annexes early, and design campus network segmentation and OT security to match.
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ELV & ICT Design in Czechia
Market. Prague Gateway DC, built by České Radiokomunikace (CRA) at Zbraslav–Jíloviště, is the most concrete project. Skanska announced on 24 August 2026 a CZK 2.1 billion construction contract, with completion scheduled for 2028. Czech Television reports that the first clients could start in 2027.
Rules that shape design. The Cybersecurity Act (Act No. 264/2025 Coll.) took effect on 1 November 2025. Sources describe a registration window of about 60 days and a one-year transition to full security-control compliance, which ends around November 2026. NÚKIB is the regulator. The coverage estimates vary, from about 600 organisations to about 6,000.
Design angle for ASDV. The transition period ends around November 2026, so the OT asset inventory, logging, supplier security and remote-access controls need to be in place now. These are design items as well as compliance items, so they belong in the ELV and ICT scope.
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ELV & ICT Design in France
Market. Greater Paris holds more than 75% of France's data centre capacity. Power and land limits are steering AI-focused builds towards Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble and Dunkirk. Sovereign cloud rules are increasing demand for in-country workloads.
Rules that shape design. France's bill transposing NIS2 was still before the National Assembly in October 2026, so the obligations are not yet in force. ANSSI published the ReCyF guidance on 17 March 2026. Fire alarm design for public buildings follows NF S61-932 and the fire authority review.
Design angle for ASDV. Plan fire alarm design around the ERP category and the fire authority review. For data centres, design the OT zones and logging now, so the NIS2 bill can be met when it is adopted.
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ELV & ICT Design in Spain
Market. Madrid holds most of Spain's installed data centre capacity, and Aragón is growing fast from a smaller base with hyperscale projects. An industry survey reported grid access as the top obstacle, ahead of permitting timelines.
Rules that shape design. The European Commission referred Spain to the EU Court of Justice in July 2026 over incomplete NIS2 transposition. The draft Cybersecurity Coordination and Governance Law was still in parliament. Fire protection follows the CTE and UNE-EN 54 where specified.
Design angle for ASDV. Grid timing is the main schedule risk, so design the ELV backbone and monitoring in phases. Confirm the ICT infrastructure rules for telecom in buildings early.
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ELV & ICT Design in Italy
Market. Milan is the main concentration of Italian data centres, and a national expansion phase is expected for 2026 to 2028. A February 2026 decree created a single national authorisation procedure for data centres, while regional bills are being aligned with it.
Rules that shape design. NIS2 is transposed by Legislative Decree 138/2024, supervised by the national cybersecurity agency (ACN). Incident reporting applies from January 2026, and some governance duties from October 2026. Fire detection follows UNI 9795, and the CPI fire prevention certificate process applies.
Design angle for ASDV. Plan the grid and monitoring data early, because the authorisation and grid connection both need load and phasing information. Design the OT zones and remote access for the NIS2 duties.
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ELV & ICT Design in Austria
Market. Vienna hosts most of Austria's data centre capacity, with hyperscale and colocation operators. Capacity estimates differ widely between trackers, and grid queues are reported as the main constraint for new sites.
Rules that shape design. NISG 2026 was published in December 2025 and was scheduled to take effect on 1 October 2026, with registration for in-scope entities by the end of 2026. Fire detection follows EN 54 where specified, and the OIB guidelines set building requirements.
Design angle for ASDV. Design the OT zones, remote access and logging for NISG 2026 now. For Vienna sites, plan phased backbones and metering around the grid connection schedule.
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ELV & ICT Design in Switzerland
Market. Zurich hosts most of Switzerland's operating and planned data centre capacity, and power and cooling water are the constraints that matter most. Geneva has a hydro-powered facility opened in 2025.
Rules that shape design. Switzerland is not in the EU, so NIS2 does not apply directly. The federal Information Security Act has applied since 1 January 2024, and a revision was ordered in May 2026. The revised FADP has applied since 1 September 2023. VKF fire insurance guidelines apply to many buildings.
Design angle for ASDV. Design CCTV to the revised FADP, with purpose, field of view and retention recorded. Plan power and cooling water constraints into data centre design from the start.
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ELV & ICT Design in Norway
Market. Oslo holds most of Norway's data centre capacity, with operators including Green Mountain, STACK Infrastructure and Bulk Infrastructure. Growth forecasts differ widely between market researchers.
Rules that shape design. Norway's Digital Security Act (digitalsikkerhetsloven) took effect on 1 October 2025. NIS2 is still being prepared in Norway, and sources differ on the timeline. Customers of data centre and cloud providers already pass NIS2-style requirements down the supply chain.
Design angle for ASDV. Design building OT controls and supplier security requirements now, since customers may require them even where the law does not yet apply directly.
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ELV & ICT Design in Greece
Market. Athens is Greece's main data centre hub, with most operating facilities and a large upcoming pipeline. Some reports put the pipeline above 300 MW, and several projects are planned for launch in 2026 and 2027.
Rules that shape design. Greece transposed NIS2 through Law 5160/2024, published on 27 November 2024. It requires a security officer, a cybersecurity policy and an asset inventory, and it makes management personally liable. The National Cybersecurity Authority is the competent authority.
Design angle for ASDV. Build the building asset inventory and the security officer's requirements into the ELV design package, as Law 5160/2024 expects.
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ELV & ICT Design in Romania
Market. Bucharest is attracting data centre developers, though the local market is still small. A stand-alone facility of about 12 MW is planned for operation between late 2027 and early 2028. Savills ranked Bucharest 21st in its 2026 data centre potential index.
Rules that shape design. Romania transposed NIS2 through Emergency Ordinance 155/2024, as approved and amended by Law 124/2025, in force from July 2025. The DNSC issued registration orders in August 2025. One source says full transposition is still pending, so check the current position with the DNSC.
Design angle for ASDV. Plan the data centre backbone and monitoring in phases, and confirm the fire authority requirements with the ISU at the start of design.
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ELV & ICT Design in Hungary
Market. Budapest holds most of Hungary's data centre capacity. National market figures differ widely between researchers, so capacity should be confirmed site by site.
Rules that shape design. Hungary's Cybersecurity Act (Act LXIX of 2024) took effect on 1 January 2025, with its implementing decree. It requires registration, security measures and audits by registered auditors. Sources differ on the audit deadline.
Design angle for ASDV. Make the audit scope visible in the design: the building systems on the asset register, their zones and their logging. Confirm the audit date with Hungarian counsel.
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ELV & ICT Design in Bulgaria
Market. Sofia is a regional interconnection point for Southeast Europe, with many network points of presence. Digital Realty bought two Sofia sites from Telepoint in March 2026, and operators are expanding existing sites.
Rules that shape design. The NIS2 amendments to the Cybersecurity Act took effect in February 2026. They add a 24-hour incident reporting duty and personal management responsibility, and data centre service providers are among the newly covered groups. Fines for essential entities can reach €10 million or 2% of turnover.
Design angle for ASDV. Design detection and escalation so an incident can be reported within 24 hours, with logs from BMS, access control and CCTV to a monitored location.
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ELV & ICT Design in Croatia
Market. Croatia's data centre market is small. Most projects are enterprise, ICT and public-sector facilities, and hospitality along the Adriatic coast drives much of the building ELV work.
Rules that shape design. Croatia's Cybersecurity Act took effect in February 2024, and the European Commission lists NIS2 transposition as complete. The first categorisation of entities concluded in 2025. Compliance deadlines differ between sources, so check each entity's notice.
Design angle for ASDV. Design building systems for the categories the authority assigns, and check each entity's compliance date from its categorisation notice.
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ELV & ICT Design in Cyprus
Market. Nicosia and Limassol host Cyprus's small data centre market, and financial services, shipping and technology firms drive office demand. Electricity tariffs are flagged as a key cost factor for technical sites.
Rules that shape design. Cyprus transposed NIS2 by amending its NIS law through Law 60(I)/2025, in force from April 2025. One guide reports a six-hour early-warning deadline, which is shorter than the directive's, so check the official text.
Design angle for ASDV. Plan detection and escalation to match the reporting duty, and show the monitoring route on the ELV and ICT drawings.
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ELV & ICT Design in Estonia
Market. Tallinn has a small, fast-moving data centre market with a few larger sites. Power prices are a major planning factor, and the nearest cloud on-ramps are in Helsinki and Stockholm.
Rules that shape design. Estonia amended its Cybersecurity Act to transpose NIS2, in force from 1 January 2026. The covered entities rise from roughly 3,500 to about 6,500. Registration starts on 1 April 2026, governance duties on 1 January 2027 and full technical compliance on 1 January 2028.
Design angle for ASDV. Plan the technical controls for the 2028 stage now, and make the building asset inventory part of the design deliverables.
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ELV & ICT Design in Latvia
Market. Riga is adding capacity, including a 10 MW AI and high-performance computing facility launched in April 2026 with room to expand. Market counts differ widely between aggregators.
Rules that shape design. Latvia transposes NIS2 through its National Cybersecurity Law. The Commission sent a reasoned opinion in May 2025 over incomplete transposition, and secondary rules were still being completed in 2026. Cloud providers are newly in scope.
Design angle for ASDV. Confirm the entity's classification under the law on likumi.lv, and design the OT zones and logging for the entities that fall within it.
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ELV & ICT Design in Lithuania
Market. Vilnius hosts most of Lithuania's data centre capacity. The market is small, and new projects are being built near the city, including a facility in Rejsztaniszki scheduled for 2027.
Rules that shape design. Lithuania's amended Law on Cyber Security took effect on 18 October 2024. Essential entities have 250 or more employees or €50 million turnover, and important entities 50 or more or €10 million. The reporting model runs from an early alert, through an update, to a final report.
Design angle for ASDV. Design logging and escalation so the staged report can be produced, and show the route on the ELV and ICT drawings.
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ELV & ICT Design in Luxembourg
Market. Luxembourg has a small number of registered data centre facilities and public-sector cloud programmes. Financial-sector clients drive much of the security design demand, and sources differ on how large the market is.
Rules that shape design. Luxembourg adopted its NIS2 transposition law in May 2026. It applies to organisations with 50 or more employees, or turnover above €10 million, in listed sectors. Registration was due by 10 July 2026. The ILR supervises most sectors and the CSSF banking and financial market infrastructure.
Design angle for ASDV. For financial buildings, design layered access control, resilient networks and documented segmentation so audits can follow the design.
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ELV & ICT Design in Malta
Market. Malta's data centre market is small and dominated by a few local operators. Hospitality and tourism are the main drivers of building ELV work, and capacity should be confirmed with each operator.
Rules that shape design. Malta transposed NIS2 through Legal Notice 71 of 2025, and the main order took effect on 23 January 2026. Legal Notice 89 of 2026 added an enforcement committee with administrative fines. Summaries of the amendment should be checked against the legal notice.
Design angle for ASDV. For hotels and hospitality, design guest, staff and building networks as separate segments, with logs for access control and CCTV.
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ELV & ICT Design in Slovakia
Market. Bratislava hosts most of Slovakia's data centre capacity. Directory counts differ widely, and cloud on-ramps are limited locally. Industrial and logistics demand is a large share of Slovak construction.
Rules that shape design. Slovakia implemented NIS2 by amending its Cybersecurity Act through Act 366/2024, in force from 1 January 2025. Implementing decrees followed in September 2025. The National Security Authority (NBÚ) supervises the regime, and cloud providers are covered.
Design angle for ASDV. For industrial sites, design perimeter, gate and shift access as one concept, with segmentation between production, warehouse and office networks.
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ELV & ICT Design in Slovenia
Market. Ljubljana's data centre market is small, and grid connection queues are reported as long for megawatt-scale requests. Investors are also looking at Maribor, where a public data centre with waste-heat reuse is planned at about €18 million.
Rules that shape design. Slovenia's Information Security Act (ZInfV-1) transposes NIS2. One tracker dates its entry into force to June 2025, and it sets three-month registration, one-year organisational and two-year technical deadlines. Sources differ on the details.
Design angle for ASDV. Where waste heat is reused, add heat metering to the monitoring design, and plan the data path to the district heating operator.
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United Kingdom
The UK is outside the EU, so the EU rules in this page do not apply. Market and standards notes for the UK, including BS 5839 and BS EN 50173, are on the UK page.