Greece’s Copelouzos Group has agreed to explore the development of artificial intelligence and data-centre infrastructure with two Abu Dhabi technology companies, opening a new investment market in which electricity availability, grid access and digital infrastructure are becoming increasingly interconnected.
The agreements, signed on October 22 with Khazna Data Centers and Core42, both part of the G42 technology group, come as Greece’s transmission system operator IPTO reports receiving more than 12 GW of data-centre connection applications.
The figure is significantly above earlier industry estimates and highlights the scale of potential electricity demand seeking access to Greece’s transmission network.
It does not, however, represent committed investment or actual electricity consumption. IPTO has acknowledged that it cannot yet determine with certainty which applications represent advanced projects and which remain at an earlier development stage.
Even so, the combination of a major international investment partnership and a rapidly expanding connection queue points to a broader shift in Southeast Europe’s electricity sector.
Energy companies are increasingly moving beyond supplying electricity to become developers, infrastructure partners and investors in the growing AI economy.
Energy infrastructure becomes an AI investment asset
The agreements between Copelouzos, Khazna and Core42 envisage combining Khazna’s experience in developing physical data-centre facilities with Core42’s cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence capabilities.
The companies will explore the development of an AI factory in Greece, although the project’s final investment scope, ownership structure and implementation schedule have yet to be determined.
A large and expandable facility in the Attica region has been reported as a potential initial development, but no final site or installed capacity has been confirmed.
For Copelouzos, the strategic significance extends beyond entering another infrastructure segment.
The group has experience in developing energy projects, securing infrastructure approvals and structuring large-scale investments with international partners. Those capabilities are becoming increasingly relevant to data centres, where securing electricity capacity can be almost as important as securing land or financing.
A conventional electricity supplier generates revenue primarily through energy sales.
A data-centre infrastructure investor can potentially capture value across a much broader range of activities, including land development, grid-access preparation, electrical infrastructure, facility ownership and long-term capacity leasing.
That creates a different investment proposition, potentially combining contracted infrastructure revenues with exposure to the rapidly expanding demand for computing capacity.
The commercial opportunity nevertheless depends on securing customers, allocating development risks and completing the projects. The signed agreements are not yet final investment commitments.
More than 12 GW of applications creates a new market constraint
IPTO deputy chairman Ioannis Margaris said at an Athens energy conference on October 22 that applications from data-centre developers had exceeded 12 GW.
Earlier reporting in October had placed the pipeline at roughly 9 GW, compared with almost 5 GW in June.
The rapid increase illustrates the pace of interest in developing data-centre capacity in Greece, but the applications should not be treated as equivalent to future operational electricity demand.
A connection application demonstrates interest in securing electricity capacity. It does not necessarily mean that financing, permits, technology agreements or long-term computing customers have already been secured.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important for electricity-system planning.
If transmission capacity is allocated to projects that ultimately do not proceed, more advanced developments could face longer connection timelines and higher costs.
Greece is therefore considering changes to the way data-centre connection rights are allocated.
Under a draft regulatory framework, developers would face stricter financial and technical requirements, including a proposed €200,000-per-MW connection guarantee and responsibility for grid infrastructure costs directly attributable to their projects.
A 100 MW application would therefore require a €20 million guarantee if the proposed requirement is adopted in its current form.
The draft framework also proposes that data centres obtain at least 60% of their annual electricity consumption from renewable sources.
The legislation remains under consultation, which was scheduled to close on October 24, and the proposed requirements are not yet binding.
The direction of travel is nevertheless significant.
Access to scarce transmission capacity is increasingly being treated as a commitment that should be supported by credible financial backing, rather than simply an administrative application.
Banks face a different infrastructure-risk calculation
Financing a data centre introduces a different risk profile from that of a conventional renewable-energy project.
For a utility-scale renewable development, lenders typically focus on construction risk, generation forecasts, electricity revenues, grid access and operational performance.
A data centre introduces additional exposure to computing demand, technology changes, cooling systems, electrical redundancy and customer concentration.
Its financing structure may also depend heavily on the credit quality of cloud providers, AI companies or long-term facility tenants.
As a result, one of the most important investment milestones could become the point at which a project secures both a credible computing customer and a bankable electricity connection.
Grid capacity alone is unlikely to support significant amounts of project debt without evidence that the facility can be completed and commercially occupied.
Conversely, a development with secured grid capacity, completed electrical engineering, environmental approvals and long-term customer commitments could have a materially different risk profile and valuation from a speculative project.
This creates an emerging role for energy developers as infrastructure sponsors, preparing projects for institutional investors and long-term capital.
Electricity procurement moves into integrated infrastructure design
The proposed Greek regulatory framework adds another layer to the data-centre investment model.
A renewable electricity requirement, combined with stricter grid-access conditions, would make power procurement part of the project’s initial design rather than a secondary operational consideration.
Developers would need to assess generation availability, electricity consumption patterns, cooling requirements and potential flexibility obligations from the beginning of the project.
The electricity system could also benefit from demand capable of responding to operating conditions, provided appropriate commercial agreements and technical arrangements are established.
Some computing workloads may be scheduled or shifted more easily than others.
Critical workloads requiring continuous operation, however, cannot simply be interrupted whenever the electricity system becomes constrained.
That distinction will influence how contracts are structured between data-centre operators, electricity suppliers and system operators.
Energy-efficiency requirements are also evolving at the European level. The European Commission is preparing potential minimum performance standards for data centres, with a legislative proposal expected in 2027.
Energy efficiency, water consumption, cooling performance and the potential recovery of waste heat are therefore becoming increasingly relevant to both asset valuation and long-term operating costs.
Southeast Europe faces a new infrastructure competition
The Greek developments could have wider implications for Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, although the scale and timing of demand will differ across each market.
Countries competing for AI infrastructure will increasingly be assessed on factors including electricity reliability, available grid capacity, telecommunications connectivity, permitting efficiency and their ability to structure large-scale investments.
Serbia’s industrial infrastructure and regional telecommunications links could support selected developments, while Romania and Bulgaria offer access to the EU electricity and digital-services markets.
Montenegro’s potential would depend on identifying a commercially viable niche, given the smaller scale of its electricity system and supporting infrastructure.
The main competition may therefore not be over which country can offer the lowest wholesale electricity price.
Instead, it may increasingly be about which jurisdiction can provide bankable electrical infrastructure, reliable capacity and sufficient development certainty within the timetable required by international technology companies.
For utilities and infrastructure developers, the Copelouzos initiative provides an early example of how expertise in the electricity sector can be converted into participation in an entirely different revenue market.
The immediate opportunity is not the entire 12 GW application pipeline.
It is the much smaller group of projects capable of turning requested electricity capacity into financed, contracted and operational digital infrastructure.
The emerging model links power, data and capital more closely than before.
For Southeast Europe, that could make access to reliable electricity not just an energy-sector issue, but a decisive factor in the region’s ability to attract the next generation of AI and digital infrastructure investment.
Verified against the October 22 IPTO conference disclosure, the Copelouzos–G42 announcement and Greece’s October data-centre regulatory proposals.
