First Data Center Built Inside Active Mine Opens in Italy’s Dolomites
June 29, 2026
First Data Center Built Inside Active Mine Opens in Italy’s Dolomites
A data center constructed inside an active mine in the Dolomites of northeast Italy has officially launched, marking what developers claim is a first-of-its-kind facility in Europe. The project, named Intacture, is located 100 meters (328 feet) underground within the Tuenetto di Predaia quarry in the Val di Non region. The same underground chambers have been used for decades to store apples, sparkling wine, and cheese, but now house a 6MW data center powered entirely by renewable energy.
The €50 million ($58 million) project was developed by Trentino DataMine, a public-private partnership formed in September 2023 between the University of Trento and local businesses. According to Trentino DataMine, Intacture is the first data center built inside an active mine in Europe. More than 80 percent of the facility was constructed underground to minimize its surface footprint. The construction process involved extracting 63,000 square meters (678,125 square feet) of rock, excavating 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) of tunnels, and building a vertical shaft, referred to as a “fornello,” that connects the operational tunnels to the surface. The entire project was completed in just over two years from design to construction.
The facility does not use water for cooling and draws 100 percent of its power from renewable sources, according to Trentino DataMine. More than €18 million ($21 million) of the total investment came from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), specifically its education and research initiative. “Italy has everything it takes to establish itself as a Mediterranean hub for data and computing power, thanks to its strategic location, digital infrastructure and a dynamic and competitive industrial ecosystem,” said Adolfo Urso, Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, during the launch event. “Today, Intacture is leading the way: sustainable innovation rooted in local communities, capable of generating development, skilled employment and new opportunities for future generations.”
The development reflects a growing trend in Europe toward underground data centers, which offer enhanced security and a reduced environmental impact. Belgian IT services provider Cegeka announced an initial €40 million ($46.9 million) investment last year to build a subterranean data center in Belgian Limburg. The Intacture project is expected to serve as a model for integrating data infrastructure into existing industrial and geological environments, potentially influencing future developments across the region.
Source: datacenterdynamics
