Start Campus, a data center development in Sines, Portugal, has signed a strategic partnership with Portuguese renewable firm EDP to facilitate the delivery of renewable energy to the campus.

The companies signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) setting the parameters for further collaboration.

According to the partners, the agreement will be structured around three pillars, which include accelerating renewable energy development to support the growing digital demand while enhancing grid resilience and long-term system stability, the establishment of EDP as Start Campus’ preferred long-term partner for green energy solutions, and the exploration of potential collaboration in Sines and further data center developments across Portugal.

“This partnership framework reflects a shared conviction that digital infrastructure and renewable energy must be developed together, at scale and with long-term system resilience in mind,” said Robert Dunn, CEO of Start Campus. “By aligning Start Campus’ platform vision with EDP’s energy leadership and global experience supporting hyperscale digital infrastructure, we are laying the foundations for an integrated approach to digital growth – starting in Sines and extending across the country – that supports customers, strengthens the energy system, and delivers sustainable economic value.”

“EDP’s background and track record in clean energy development, combined with Start Campus’ expertise in developing world-class data centers, form a robust foundation to deliver renewable-powered digital infrastructure at scale, in Portugal,” added Ana Quelhas, head of Hydrogen and Data Centers Business Unit at EDP.

Located on repurposed industrial land in Sines, Portugal, Start Campus could eventually become Europe’s biggest data center campus, with 1.2GW of power secured by the developer. The first data center at the site, the 26MW SIN01 facility, came online. SIN01 is the first data center of Start Campus’ planned six-building campus.

Start Campus faced several challenges when it was involved in a corruption scandal that brought down the Portuguese government and saw multiple Start Campus executives arrested amid investigations of alleged “misuse of funds, active and passive corruption by political figures, and influence peddling.”

Since then, the charges against former CEO Afonso Salema have been dropped. Robert Dunn is now the permanent CEO at Start Campus, having served as the interim CEO since November 2023.

EDP is the largest renewable energy company in the Portuguese market, with approximately 6.6GW of renewable capacity installed in the country. In the company’s latest results, it reported that its total global installed capacity rose to 32.7GW, of which 87 percent was from renewable energy sources.