What’s ahead for the Dutch data centre market

The Netherlands has positioned itself as Europe’s data hub, and the numbers show this foundation is ready for significant expansion.

The market is projected to reach $6.42 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow at a 7.04% annual rate through 2030, reaching $9.02 billion. But what’s driving this growth, and where will it come from?

Room to grow

The numbers tell an interesting story about where growth can happen. Dutch data centres occupy 239 hectares—that’s just 0.3% of industrial land. More importantly, they’ve kept electricity use flat for a decade while handling exponentially more data. This isn’t an accident, the Netherlands has built an industry that grows through efficiency rather than just adding more facilities.

That approach matters now because the next phase of growth looks different. Edge computing needs smaller, distributed sites rather than massive hyperscale facilities.

The Dutch model of efficient, sustainable operations can handle this shift. And perhaps most importantly, operators can expand data centres (either increasing existing sites or building new ones) without environmental backlash. This is because 90% of the energy consumed by Dutch data centres is purchased as green energy.

Regulatory changes create new opportunities

The Dutch government changed the rules in January 2024, restricting where new hyperscale data centres can be built. These massive facilities can now only go in specific locations like Eemshaven and Agriport A7. Amsterdam went further, capping new developments above 670 MVA unless they serve local needs without adding grid pressure.

While on the surface these restrictions appear to limit growth, really they’re just pushing innovation in a direction that already serves the needs of the market. What do we mean by that? Companies are focusing on smaller, distributed facilities that serve edge computing needs.

As IoT deployments and smart city technologies expand, this distributed approach aligns perfectly with where demand is heading. This brings us nicely onto our next point: businesses are moving critical operations closer to their users.

From storage to processing

Netflix needs content delivery at the edge. Financial services require millisecond response times. Manufacturing plants want real-time AI processing on-site. This isn’t just about storing data anymore.

The Amsterdam region already handles much of Europe’s internet traffic, but these new demands require infrastructure spread across multiple locations.

Companies that can deliver hybrid cloud setups and handle AI workloads securely at the edge will capture this market. These operational complexities, from threat detection to managing distributed systems, are becoming the key differentiators in the industry, and for this reason, they’re key talking points at the upcoming Data Centre Expo in Amsterdam. 

Skills and infrastructure ready for scale

Where the Netherlands is in a strong position compared to some of its European counterparts is in maturity. Major companies we’ve mentioned already, like Netflix – as well as others like Tesla and Oracle – chose Amsterdam because of its digital quality. And other companies follow suit. 

The sector already supports 11,000 direct jobs and underpins 2.1 million positions across the digital economy. This employment base provides the foundation for expansion, though skills development around hybrid cloud operations and AI workloads remains crucial. In other words, the Netherlands already has everything it needs to expand: skills, infrastructure, momentum. 

The growth path forward

Network infrastructure dominates current spending at $2.89 billion in 2025, but future growth will come from diversification. Edge computing, DevOps platforms, and secure infrastructure solutions represent the fastest-growing segments. Topics like visibility and threat detection are becoming central to data centre operations as cyber threats evolve.

As the sector evolves, there’s a lot that other regions can learn from the Dutch model, particularly in data centre design and governance. These are the kinds of talking points shaping discussions at events like the Data Centre Expo, where cross-border insight is becoming vital to a healthy data centre market.

(Photo by Hendrik Kuterman)

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