EU delays €20bn AI gigafactories

The European Union’s plan to finance a new generation of AI “gigafactories” has slowed just as Brussels is trying to show it can compete with the United States and China on computing infrastructure. The bloc’s €20 billion initiative, presented by the European Commission as a public-private push to build several large-scale AI sites, has run into delays, funding strain and questions from prospective partners about how much of the project can be financed in practice. Reporting this week said the next bidding step had been pushed to July and that some consortia were reconsidering whether to stay in. ### How far has the EU’s plan slipped? The European Commission said in 2025 that it wanted to mobilise €20 billion for AI gigafactories across the bloc, with the project framed as a flagship piece of Europe’s “AI Continent” strategy. The Commission’s AI gigafactories page says Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the plan in February 2025 and described it as a way to finance several large facilities for developing “trustworthy AI.” (commission.europa.eu) Bloomberg reported on June 2 that the EU’s €20 billion plan for five large AI data centres was floundering, with delays and funding problems alienating some potential partners. A separate report summarising the same developments said the bidding timetable had been pushed back to July. ### Wasn’t there strong interest at the start? (commission.europa.eu) The European Commission said last year that 76 expressions of interest had been submitted for AI gigafactories in 16 member states across 60 sites. Industry participants included data-centre operators, telecoms companies, energy suppliers, technology groups and financial investors, according to reporting that cited the Commission’s figures. (bloomberg.com) This week’s reporting suggests that early enthusiasm has narrowed sharply. DigitrendZ, citing the latest state of the process, said expected bidders had fallen to about 10 and that at least two consortia could withdraw if the project is reduced in scope. Bloomberg said delays and financing issues were pushing some potential partners away. (datacenterdynamics.com) ### Where is the money problem coming from? The Commission says the initiative is meant to “de-risk and crowd in” private investment, alongside EU funding, member-state budgets and financing from the European Investment Bank. That structure means the project depends not only on Brussels money but also on national backing and private capital arriving on time and at sufficient scale. (digitrendz.blog) The funding gap has become more visible as the size of the proposed facilities has grown. DigitrendZ reported that only about €4.1 billion in EU subsidies would arrive years after infrastructure is needed, while private investors are being asked to support projects on a much larger scale. That mismatch has made some bidders question whether the original five-site ambition can be delivered on schedule. (commission.europa.eu) ### Why does power supply keep coming up? SoftBank said on May 31 that it planned a €75 billion AI infrastructure program in France, including 3.1 gigawatts of AI data centres in the Hauts-de-France region by 2031. CNBC reported on June 3 that the project includes sites in Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain and that analysts see AI’s electricity needs as a major test for Europe’s grid. (digitrendz.blog) Europe’s own documents point to the same constraint from another angle. The Commission says the EU faces a “critical deficit” in large-scale computing infrastructure, while the broader AI Continent plan calls for at least tripling the bloc’s data-centre capacity in the next five to seven years. That leaves the gigafactory program competing for land, power connections, equipment and capital at the same time as private projects are getting larger. (cnbc.com) ### What happens next in July? The Commission’s consultation document said the official call for establishing one or more AI gigafactories was expected after the exploratory phase, and current reporting says the next bidding stage is now due in July. That step is likely to show whether the EU can still attract enough committed partners to keep the project near its original scale. (commission.europa.eu) July is now the next concrete marker for companies, governments and financiers involved in the process. The Commission’s existing target remains several AI gigafactories backed by up to €20 billion, but the next round of bids will indicate how much of that plan still has active support. (commission.europa.eu) (eurohpc-ju.europa.eu)