The 4th Data Center Design Engineering and Construction Summit was held in Barcelona on 15–16 April, gathering leaders responsible for planning, building, and operating critical digital infrastructure. The event was all about the market-moving issues of the moment. Those topics ranged from AI-ready design to liquid cooling, from power strategy to faster delivery, from retrofit planning to sustainability and resilient operations. 

The summit demonstrated that the sector is evolving at an incredible pace. High rack density is driven by new AI workloads. Power availability is a strategic concern. Moreover, cooling requires new thinking. Construction teams also have to produce at a higher rate, and yet meet the same high standards. Those realities informed every high-level conversation at the summit.

Why the 4th Data Center Design Engineering and Construction Summit Mattered

The 4th Data Center Design Engineering and Construction Summit was different because it was about execution, not theory. Numerous events talk about trends in generalities. However, this summit addressed what owners, contractors, operators, and consultants need to do today.

The attendees listened to the most trusted names and companies , which are impossible to track nowadays. That gave the sessions strong real-world value. Furthermore, speakers drew on lessons learned from current projects, expansion initiatives, and live operations.

The occasion also underscored Spain’s increasing importance in the European digital infrastructure. Moreover, Barcelona provided a good venue for discussions on investment, connectivity, and new capacity.

Day One: 4th Data Center Design Engineering and Construction Summit Sessions & Expert Speakers

Day one of the 4th Data Center Design Engineering and Construction Summit opened with registration, welcome coffee, & the chairman’s remarks before the main program began. The schedule then moved quickly into policy/operations/cooling/market growth.

How Politics Influences Data Center Design

The keynote examined the way politics now influences data center planning and design. Regulation, energy policy, land use approvals , and environmental goals all impact the success of projects. It is no longer possible for operators to treat engineering and public policy separately. Furthermore, this meeting left participants with a better idea of how government steering of industry can determine where, when, and with what energy resources future sites will be established. Additionally, this issue is important across Europe, where infrastructure expansion is driven by both market need and regulatory backing.

Designing AI-Ready Data Centres – The Operator View

Antonio Tabasco, Head of Engineering & Construction, Nabiax

Antonio Tabasco talked about the preparations that operators are making for facilities for the next wave of AI demand. He focused on flexibility, scalability, and planning for future capacities. AI workloads consume significantly more power and cooling than traditional compute environments. Moreover, operators must build for long-term flexibility. So, this session allowed attendees to learn how owners can avoid costly rework down the road by planning properly from the beginning.

Managing Data Center Projects as a General Contractor

• Alexander Oehlschläger, Managing Data Center Projects as a General Contractor, VINCI Energies Building Solutions
• Sarah Badaoui, Health and Data Center Business Unit Manager, VINCI Energies Building Solutions
• Tiago Mendes, Technical Satellite Portugal, VINCI Energies Building Solutions
• Miguel Macedo, Business Unit General Manager, VINCI Energies Building Solutions

This panel discussion was taken from a contractor’s point of view on delivery. Complex data center builds necessitate cooperation among electrical, mechanical, civil, and specialist contractors. Furthermore, speakers discussed schedule control, quality assurance, safety, procurement risk, and communication with stakeholders. Fast delivery only happens if project leaders remain disciplined. So, for owners and EPC teams currently running projects, this session was spot on.

Reliable Power Cables for Data Centres

Jordi Brull Calbet, Key Account Manager & Business Development, Top Cable

Dependable electrical infrastructure is still a critical factor for uptime. Jordi Brull Calbet concentrated on the design of cables, their long-term behaviour performance, and the manufacturing consistency. He also spoke of the supply chain sustainability. Bad material selections typically generate latent risk into the future. Additionally, a highlight of this session was to reinforce for attendees that robust infrastructure is the result of proven components, not just large tickets.

Fiber and Cabling Connectivity Site Distribution

Alessandro Carpena, Senior Manager, Cross-Functional Data Centers Operations and Program Management, Equinix

Alessandro Carpena analyzed fiber connectivity provisioning across retail, hyperscale, and substation markets. Planning connectivity impacts speed, resilience, and growth of the customer. Moreover, operators are in need of straightforward floor plans that help them expand without disrupting. The main message this session conveyed to the teams was to think beyond racks and power to the network pathways that keep the digital facilities competitive.

High-Density Cooling for a Sustainable World

Tom Bosmans, Business Development Manager, BAC

Tom Bosmans tackled one of the most pressing problems of the marketplace. Higher rack density generates more heat and also limits the thermal space. He spoke about the transition from primitive air methods to sophisticated liquid cooling solutions that increase efficiency and have less impact on the environment. Additionally, this session included energy consumption, water management, and performance benchmarking among contemporary cooling technologies.

Data Center 2040: From Digital Infrastructure to Planetary Ecosystems

Béla Waldhauser, Senior Advisor, Telehouse Deutschland

Béla Waldhauser was looking farther out than most sessions. The speaker studied long- term trends in the location of computing, energy autonomy, and thermal innovation. The session also considered how digital infrastructure could become more tightly integrated with broader economic and environmental systems. Moreover, this forward-thinking session offered a large strategic perspective for a group focused on today’s delivery worries.

Spain as a Digital Hub: The Real State of the Data Center Sector

Alejandro Fuster, CTO, SpainDC

Alejandro Fuster focused on the emerging market of data centers in Spain. It probably covered growth in demand, investment momentum, policy direction, and longer-term capacity needs. Meanwhile, Spain is once again bringing a spotlight as European demand grows further beyond traditional core hubs. Furthermore, this session gave the attendees an insight into why Barcelona and Spain in general are important for the next wave of regional infrastructure growth.

Cable Specification: Making Decisions for Sustainable Resilient Operations

Matias Ramon I Mendiola, Head of Renewable Energy (International), Eland Cables

Matias Ramon I Mendiola talked about the impact of cable choice on lifecycle value. He spoke of the performance requirements, the compliance, embodied carbon, the quality of the testing, and the risk of long-term maintenance. Most projects focus only on top-level systems. Moreover, this session proved that detailed specification work is equally important for resilient operations.

From Silicon to Facility: How New AI Chips Are Redefining Cooling Requirements

• Virginia Sainz Touron, Data Center Engineer, Data4 Group
• Sarah Badaoui, Health and Data Center Business Unit Manager, VINCI Energies Building Solutions
• Béla Waldhauser, Senior Advisor, Telehouse Deutschland

This final panel linked semiconductor innovation with datacenter design. New AI chips generate higher thermal loads and a new set of infrastructure requirements. Moreover, the panel looked at liquid cooling preparedness, retrofit complexity, and design rules for next-gen halls. It was a very strong closing theme as chip innovation now drives building strategy directly.

Day Two: 4th Data Center Design Engineering and Construction Summit Sessions and Industry Insights

Day two focused on future-proofing, water management, procurement, refrigerants, and the next construction cycle.

Future-Proofing Design for AI Era Density Resilience and Upgradeability

David Hall, CTO, Tillion Data Centers

David Hall opened day two with a very practical subject. The new infrastructure must be designed to handle higher densities and be reliable and easy to upgrade. Additionally, he talked about modular thinking, spare capacity forecasting, and lifecycle flexibility. This issue is important for owners because they cannot afford to have their fleets become prematurely obsolete in a rapidly moving market.

Social License to Build: Why Power Strategy Now Defines Project Success

Hana Sutton, Head of EMEA Project and Development Services Data Centres, JLL

Hana Sutton looked at how these days, community approval and energy planning have more bearing on project success. Furthermore, obtaining land is no longer enough to ensure success. Developers need to demonstrate they will be responsible energy users, have realistic timelines, and provide local value. That session probably struck a chord with investors and developers under greater scrutiny.

Design Efficient and Reliable Data Center Systems with GT-SUITE Digital Twins

Hanna Sara, European Manager – Simulation Solutions Consultant, Gamma Technologies

Hanna Sara demonstrated how simulation tools can enhance design prior to the start of building. Digital twins also allow teams to run early tests on cooling designs, power models, and operational configurations. That cuts the risk of redesign and improves control of the budget. Moreover, this session featured more intelligent engineering approaches for more complex facilities.

Smart Water in Critical Cooling: Water Quality Monitoring and Industrialized Construction in Data Centers

Laura Sánchez, CEO at ULBIOS and Technical Director at Italsan Group

Laura Sánchez concentrated on water quality in closed system cooling systems. Inadequate monitoring can lead to asset damage and reduced efficiency. She also spoke about modular thermoplastic piping and the industrialization of the installation process. Additionally, this panel was notable because water management often determines the long-term reliability of cooling.

Lean Construction and Procurement Strategy

Hector Martinez Pastor, Head of Construction, Hscale

Hector Martinez Pastor talked about how owners and contractors can have better discipline to build faster. Lean techniques eliminate waste, enhance coordination, and constrain delay. The procurement strategy is also important because there may be supply chain issues that will halt production very quickly. So, if you have a team under pressure to bring capacity to market very quickly, this session was for you.

Redefine Data Center Cooling with Solstice Refrigerants

Fabian Ipfelkofer, Business Development Manager, Solstice Advanced Materials

Fabian Ipfelkofer presented the refrigerant innovation for modern cooling solutions. Operators seek better performance while minimizing environmental impact. This session also included discussions on new materials, system efficiency, and compliance benefits. Additionally, cooling technology continues to advance, and refrigerants are still an integral part of that progress.

Tecniberia and the Evolving Data Center Landscape: Objectives, Members, and Market Perspective

Matias Ramon Arteu, Coordinator, Data Centers Working Group, Tecniberia

Matias Ramon Arteu described how the engineering and consultancy industry in Spain is the one that supports the growth of data centers. He discussed demand in the market, the capabilities of members, and potential future needs. Moreover, this session gave attendees a glimpse into the value-added professional world that exists behind a successful delivery.

The 2026–2030 Build-Out: Balancing Speed, Sustainability, and Power Availability

This was the final session of the summit, and it provided a forward-looking strategic perspective. The sector needs to increase capacity rapidly and manage within carbon targets and power limitations. Those tensions are often at odds. Additionally, the summit stimulated open discussion about the potential for the industry to expand responsibly over the next cycle.

Official Sponsors and Industry Partners at the 4th Data Center Design, Engineering, and Construction Summit

Leading sponsors and industry partners strengthened the summit by showcasing solutions in cooling, power, cables, monitoring, safety, and engineering for next-generation data center growth. Let’s take a look at them:

BAC – Bronze Sponsor

BAC participated in the summit as a Bronze Sponsor and contributed its extensive knowledge of cooling and thermal management. Furthermore, the company has been serving critical environments since 1938 and is still recognized for dependability in harsh applications. BAC specializes in sustainable comfort cooling, process cooling, and refrigeration equipment. 

Its products are tailored to today’s data centers, which are experiencing ever-increasing heat loads. The company also showcased high-tech cooling innovation, including immersion technologies. BAC’s participation also resonated with one of the summit’s largest themes — the need to cool efficiently for AI-ready data centers.

Eland Cables – Bronze Sponsor + Lanyards Sponsor

Eland Cables proudly sponsored the event at Bronze level and for the Lanyards. They are a global company that serves the data center industry, and their customers include contractors, consultants, and end users around the world. Moreover, Eland Cables’ technical support is excellent, and the quality of their products is very high; they respond quickly to project needs. 

The partner at the 4th Data Center Design Engineering and Construction Summit serves customers from the specification stage to the final handover. The company also has a priority focus on sustainability, emissions reporting, and responsible business. Its summit role was directly related to discussions of resilient infrastructure and enduring operations.

Top Cable – Bronze Sponsor

Top Cable participated as a Bronze Sponsor and demonstrated its expertise in electrical cable for today’s data centers. Furthermore, the company serves enterprise, colocation, and hyperscale facilities across projects of all sizes. It emphasized high-volume production, 24/7 manufacturing, and a wide range of customized cables for special applications. 

Top Cable highlighted safer and more efficient power distribution with the product line. Strong cabling is still the backbone of it all when it comes to uptime, resiliency, and growth. That made the company ideal for an event where engineering quality and reliable infrastructure were paramount.

Gamma Technologies – Bronze Sponsor

Gamma Technologies joined the summit as a Bronze Sponsor and showcased its advanced multi-physics simulation platform, GT-SUITE. Additionally, the company allows engineering teams to simulate fluid flow, thermal systems, mechanical systems, electrical systems, and controls. 

For data centers, that means improved cooling performance, power systems, energy storage, and microgrids. These tools allow teams to mitigate design risk before building. Gamma Technologies exemplified the growing industry trend to digital twins and data-driven engineering decisions. It also brought real-world results to those in “smarter facility design” mode attending the event.

Italsan – Bronze Sponsor

Italsan was a Bronze Sponsor and showcased high-performance polymer piping systems for data center and critical infrastructure applications. Furthermore, the firm backs cooling networks, liquid cooling at the chip level, and modular construction. Through its subsidiaries ULBIOS and TTR Mechanical, Italsan, through Italsantech, also provides technical consultancy, IoT monitoring, know how on water intelligence. 

Such services enable the operators to increase efficiency, resilience, and control of their systems. As the management of water and cooling gains momentum, Italsan solutions coincided with several key themes of the summit. It gave the sponsor line-up some much-needed technical prowess.

VINCI Energies Building Solutions – Silver Sponsor

VINCI Energies Building Solutions supported the summit as Silver Sponsor and brought broad experience across the full data center lifecycle. The company works in design, construction, operation, maintenance, electrical systems, HVAC, security, BMS, and energy performance. 

It focuses on resilient infrastructure that meets international standards while supporting service continuity. VINCI Energies Building Solutions also promotes lower-carbon digital infrastructure through smarter control systems and efficient operations. Its strong operational reach made it highly relevant to a summit centered on construction quality and scalable facilities.

Solstice Advanced Materials – Presenting Partner

Solstice Advanced Materials was the Presenting Partner and provided a strong representation of advanced cooling materials and refrigerant solutions. Furthermore, the company designs and manufactures high-performance specialty materials that are utilized in a variety of industries, including the semiconductor and thermal industries. It prides itself on its ability to address technical challenges with science-based solutions. 

This is relevant to the data center market because those operators need cooling systems that work better and have less impact on the environment. The partner at the 4th Data Center Design Engineering and Construction Summit echoed summit themes of sustainability, cooling efficiency, and infrastructure that is built for the future.

Tecnofire Detection – Exhibiting Partner

Tecnofire Detection took part in the event as Exhibiting Partner and brought to the exhibition its range of certified fire detection systems developed and produced in Italy. Moreover, fire detection is still a vital necessity in the ‘mission-critical’ environments where uptime and the protection of assets have never been more important. 

Data centers demand early warning systems that are fast and dependable. Tecnofire Detection underlined its commitment to innovation, quality, and certified performance. These strengths served well in engineering resilience & operational safety. It served as a constant presence to let the attendees know that safety systems were still the backbone of infrastructure, not a sideshow.

EMW Filtertechnik – Exhibiting Partner

EMW Filtertechnik participated as an Exhibiting Partner and focused on air filtration solutions for high-performance computing environments. Clean air helps support stable computing performance, lower maintenance costs, and stronger energy efficiency. 

Moreover, the company manufactures filters in Germany and offers systems designed to remove even very fine particles. In data centers, air quality can affect hardware life and cooling efficiency. EMW’s presence added an important layer to the summit because environmental control often drives long-term reliability inside technical facilities.

HITEC Power Protection – Exhibiting Partner

HITEC Power Protection was present at the event as an Exhibiting Partner and presented dynamic UPS turnkey solutions. With its proven expertise in rotary UPS technology and thousands of systems installed worldwide, the company has decades of experience. 

HITEC Highlighted High Reliability, Strong Efficiency, and Battery-Free Energy Storage via Stored Kinetic Energy. Those all play into sustainability goals, as well as protecting uptime. In an era when power resilience is increasingly a strategic priority, HITEC provided a strong voice at the summit. Its solutions aligned perfectly with the discussions of reliable infrastructure and energy efficiency.

Tecniberia – Business Partner

Tecniberia joined the summit as a Business Partner and represented Spain’s engineering, consultancy, and technological services sector. Moreover, founded in 1964, the association brings together major engineering companies and specialist firms. It represents a large share of the Spanish market and supports a strong international reach. 

Tecniberia’s involvement added regional authority to the event and reinforced Spain’s growing role in digital infrastructure development. Its presence also showed how engineering expertise supports successful data center planning, approvals, construction, and long-term expansion.

AP Sensing – Coffee-Break Sponsorship

AP Sensing contributed to the summit as Coffee-Break Sponsor and enriched the content portfolio with state-of-the-art monitoring technology. The company is a provider of distributed fiber optic sensing solutions, specialising in temperature, acoustic, leakage, and infrastructure monitoring. Moreover, these tools allow operators to monitor bus ducts, switchgear, rooftop solar assets, energy storage systems, and utility infrastructure. 

In server rooms, they enable you to minimize the risk of downtime and enhance asset management through real-time visibility. AP Sensing’s involvement naturally aligns with the summit’s focus on resilience, operational intelligence, and prescriptive maintenance.

Loadbank Rental Solutions – Exhibiting Partner

Loadbank Rental Solutions participated in the event as an Exhibiting Partner specializing in professional equipment for load testing and electrical troubleshooting. The company put the spotlight on one of the largest in Europe load bank rental pools specifically tailored to data centers, with an overall capacity of 25MW. 

Load testing is critical prior to going live, as it assures performance under load. Moreover, this makes commissioning safer and more reliable. Its presence was instrumental in supporting summit discussions on readiness, quality control, and consistent project delivery.

Key Takeaways from the Summit

The 4th Data Center Design Engineering and Construction Summit captured the vision for the future of the industry. AI needs are influencing the design of facilities. Furthermore, cooling innovation is now a must-have. Power resilience drives project success. Speedy construction must not be allowed to compromise quality. Additionally, engineering tools are becoming smarter. Spain is also still emerging as a key market for digital infrastructure.

The expertise on the sponsor line-up proved that great projects are achieved through multi-specialist sector collaboration. Cooling specialists, cable manufacturers, software suppliers, power suppliers, monitoring companies, and engineering consultants are all involved in the solution.

To get ahead of the curve on data center design, build, cooling, sustainability, and growth strategy, you’ll want to hit future editions of this summit. Stay tuned!