European Infrastructure: Primer on the data center opportunity. ACS as best positioned among European EPC contractors

Research evidence excerpt

European Infrastructure: Primer on the data center opportunity. ACS as best positioned among European EPC contractors

18 June 2026

European Industrials & Infrastructure

European Infrastructure: Primer on the data center opportunity.

ACS as best positioned among European EPC contractors

The AI-driven data center build-out is rapidly emerging as a defining multi-decade Victor Acitores

+34 915 893 901 infrastructure supercycle, with profound implications for European EPC contractors. This

victor.acitores@bernsteinsg.com report reframes the opportunity through a proprietary bottom-up lens on addressable EPC

capex, highlighting a c. $600bn pure contracting market by 2030. Our analysis underscores

Tobias Fromme a structural step-up in EPC value capture, driven by rising capex per MW, growing lifecycle

+44 20 7676 6875

tobias.fromme@bernsteinsg.com scope, and increasing project complexity. We reiterate Outperform on ACS, with conviction

strengthened by its dual EPC and direct ownership model, which uniquely maximizes

Alasdair Leslie exposure to both construction growth of data centers and long-duration infrastructure yields.

+44 20 7762 4952

alasdair.leslie@bernsteinsg.com Scale and visibility of the data center cycle is unprecedented. Global data center

capacity is set to expand at c. 14% CAGR through 2030, in our view, increasingly driven

Om Kela by AI workloads. Our analysis highlights that, unlike prior digital investment cycles, the +44 20 7550 2192

om.kela@bernsteinsg.com key constraints are now physical, shifting value creation toward infrastructure delivery. As

data centers transform from a niche end-market into a core infrastructure asset class, with

Chad Dillard multi-year visibility through hyperscaler capex and sovereign digital priorities, a unique