Italy's Trentino DataMine, a Pioneering Underground Facility, Completes Construction in Dolomite Mine
April 10, 2026
In a significant development for sustainable digital infrastructure, construction has been completed on the Trentino DataMine, a €50 million ($58 million) data center built 100 meters underground within an active dolomite quarry in Italy's Non Valley. The project represents a growing European trend of utilizing subterranean spaces for their natural cooling and security advantages, positioning such facilities as strategic assets for energy-intensive computing like artificial intelligence.
The facility, developed through a public-private partnership led by the University of Trento alongside local firms including Covi Costruzioni, Dedagroup, GPI, and Istituto Atesino di Sviluppo, broke ground in October 2024. Over €18 million ($21 million) of its funding was secured from Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The ambitious construction involved excavating 63,000 square meters of rock, carving out 15 kilometers of tunnels, and building a vertical shaft to connect the underground complex to the surface.
Currently in a startup phase with 800kW of capacity, the data center is designed to scale to 6MW. Its server halls, occupying 80% of the underground space adjacent to traditional storage rooms for apples, sparkling wine, and cheese, benefit from a naturally constant temperature of 12°C (53.6°F) and zero humidity. This environment is maintained by the surrounding dolomite rock and fresh air from the valley, eliminating the need for energy-intensive mechanical cooling. The administration of the Autonomous Province of Trento confirmed the facility is powered by locally sourced renewable energy, predominantly hydroelectric.
Achille Spinelli, Vice President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, stated during a site visit: "We have reached the end of the fundamental works for the launch of this infrastructure. It is a moment of particular satisfaction for the entire system... As a province, we can only be delighted with this data center, an innovative infrastructure that could become a strategic hub at the national level for research activities, the development of artificial intelligence technologies, and new technological developments related to digital."
Dennis Bonn, CEO of Trentino DataMine, highlighted the project's execution: "Trentino DataMine has successfully combined the efforts of an institutionalized public-private partnership with the challenging deadlines set by the PNRR, completing this underground infrastructure, a world first that meets all the requirements of the highest safety standards and maximum sustainability." The project's completion after two and a half years adds to a niche but expanding European market for underground data centers, following precedents like Belgium's Cegeka project, Switzerland's Mount10 bunker conversion, and Norway's Lefdal Mine Datacenter.
Source: datacenterdynamics
