Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What does it take to build Europe’s largest and most sustainable data-centre campus, from an empty plot of land to a 1.2-gigawatt giant of AI? How do you future-proof a facility when chip technology is evolving at breakneck speed? And what happens when the site of former coal-fired power plant becomes a global hub for AI?
In this special, on-location episode of Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich visits Sines, Portugal, where Start Campus is transforming the site of a decommissioned coal plant into a next-generation data-centre campus that once finished will be Europe’s largest data centre.
CEO Robert Dunn takes us inside the first operational building, currently 29MW but just 2.5% of what’s to come, to explore the engineering, economics, and vision behind a €10 billion physical infrastructure build that will eventually house an additional €40 billion in incoming IT hardware.
From earthquake-proof structures to seawater cooling and uninterruptible power supply systems, Rob breaks down what it means to design for 99.99999% uptime in an AI-driven world. Michael and Rob also dive into the reality and hype surrounding AI: the surge in GPU-hungry AI training, the race to build at gigawatt scale, the challenges of financing these mega-projects, and the balancing act between speed, cost, sustainability, and long-term viability.
Set against the backdrop of Microsoft’s freshly announced $10 billion investment in the Sines campus, this episode illuminates how the data-centre industry is reshaping global energy systems, local communities, and the future of compute.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Discover more:
• The Start Campus website: https://www.startcampus.pt/
• Microsoft makes one of its largest investments in Europe at Start Campus in Portugal: https://www.startcampus.pt/microsoft-makes-one-of-its-largest-investments-in-europe-at-start-campus-in-portugal
• Michael’s Green Giant’s White Paper: pioneerpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021.11.17-Green-Giants-White-Paper-Final.pdf
• The Year Energy Woke Up To AI | Audioblog 14: Generative AI, The Power and the Glory: youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ2iNh133A
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
00:57 - Intro
02:47 - What is Start Campus?
04:22 - How Big Is It?
08:27 - How Do You Build?
11:37 - Cost
13:12 - When Finished?
14:47 - Inside The Mechanical Plant Room
16:07 - Cooling The Chips
19:47 - Air Cooling vs Water Cooling
21:37 - Inside the Electrical Switch Room
23:47 - Powering The Data Centre
26:37 - How Long Do Chips Last?
28:17 - Backup Generators
33:17 - Where Does The Electricity Come From?
36:02 - Demolishing the Coal Plant
37:37 - What Makes A Good Data Centre?
41:22 - How Quick Can You Build?
43:27 - Who’s Paying For It?
47:00 - Local Community
50:00 - How Many People On Site?
52:30 - Eye Of The Storm
57:00 - Hype vs Bubble
01:00:00 - Outro
What does it take to build Europe’s largest and most sustainable data-centre campus, from an empty plot of land to a 1.2-gigawatt giant of AI? How do you future-proof a facility when chip technology is evolving at breakneck speed? And what happens when the site of former coal-fired power plant becomes a global hub for AI?
In this special, on-location episode of Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich visits Sines, Portugal, where Start Campus is transforming the site of a decommissioned coal plant into a next-generation data-centre campus that once finished will be Europe’s largest data centre.
CEO Robert Dunn takes us inside the first operational building, currently 29MW but just 2.5% of what’s to come, to explore the engineering, economics, and vision behind a €10 billion physical infrastructure build that will eventually house an additional €40 billion in incoming IT hardware.
From earthquake-proof structures to seawater cooling and uninterruptible power supply systems, Rob breaks down what it means to design for 99.99999% uptime in an AI-driven world. Michael and Rob also dive into the reality and hype surrounding AI: the surge in GPU-hungry AI training, the race to build at gigawatt scale, the challenges of financing these mega-projects, and the balancing act between speed, cost, sustainability, and long-term viability.
Set against the backdrop of Microsoft’s freshly announced $10 billion investment in the Sines campus, this episode illuminates how the data-centre industry is reshaping global energy systems, local communities, and the future of compute.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Discover more:
• The Start Campus website: https://www.startcampus.pt/
• Microsoft makes one of its largest investments in Europe at Start Campus in Portugal: https://www.startcampus.pt/microsoft-makes-one-of-its-largest-investments-in-europe-at-start-campus-in-portugal
• Michael’s Green Giant’s White Paper: pioneerpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021.11.17-Green-Giants-White-Paper-Final.pdf
• The Year Energy Woke Up To AI | Audioblog 14: Generative AI, The Power and the Glory: youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ2iNh133A
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
00:57 - Intro
02:47 - What is Start Campus?
04:22 - How Big Is It?
08:27 - How Do You Build?
11:37 - Cost
13:12 - When Finished?
14:47 - Inside The Mechanical Plant Room
16:07 - Cooling The Chips
19:47 - Air Cooling vs Water Cooling
21:37 - Inside the Electrical Switch Room
23:47 - Powering The Data Centre
26:37 - How Long Do Chips Last?
28:17 - Backup Generators
33:17 - Where Does The Electricity Come From?
36:02 - Demolishing the Coal Plant
37:37 - What Makes A Good Data Centre?
41:22 - How Quick Can You Build?
43:27 - Who’s Paying For It?
47:00 - Local Community
50:00 - How Many People On Site?
52:30 - Eye Of The Storm
57:00 - Hype vs Bubble
01:00:00 - Outro
