Start Campus’ SINES Data Center becomes a Southern European First and Brings Global Standards and Client-Ready Innovation to Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal – May 1, 2025 – Start Campus, a company focused on designing, building and operating a new generation of sustainable data centers, announces today that its operational SIN01 and planned SIN02 data centers have been officially certified as Open Compute Project (OCP) Ready™ v2 for Hyperscale data centers. These are the first facilities in Southern Europe, and just the third and fourth in Europe, to meet this new benchmark. The rigorous assessment underscoresStart Campus’ commitment to open standards, sustainability, and scalable digital infrastructure.
The OCP Ready™ certification, granted by the Open Compute Project Foundation, recognizes that SIN01 and SIN02 meet the highest standards set for hyperscale data centers and AI/HPC workloads. This certification is a mark of trust, providing a competitive edge and a strategic advantage by ensuring faster deployments, reduced total cost of ownership, and seamless integration with cutting-edge technologies such as AI and high-performance computing (HPC). The OCP Ready™ v2 facilities are designed with openness, modularity, and interoperability at their core, delivering superior energy efficiency and environmental leadership.
To achieve OCP Ready™ certification, Start Campus had to undergo a detailed OCP Ready™ v2 assessment of its operational SIN01 and planned SIN02 facilities, which assess critical factors such as logistics, site access, security, base building infrastructure, and network connectivity. These comprehensive assessments ensure the facilities meet the specific needs of hyperscale companies and align with both OCP standards and industry best practices. This certification confirms that Start Campus’ data centers are optimized to support hyperscale demands and future-proofed for the evolving digital landscape.
“OCP Ready™ certification means our clients can confidently deploy today’s most advanced compute infrastructure, knowing the foundation is built for tomorrow,” said Rob Dunn, CEO of Start Campus. “This achievement is not just a milestone for Start Campus, but a win for hyperscale, cloud, and AI/HPC-driven companies looking to secure their future in Europe in readily available and large-scale data centers.”
Located on the southwestern edge of Europe, SINES DC is one of the continent’s most ambitious infrastructure projects. The SIN01 facility, operational since Q4’24, delivers up to 26 MW of IT capacity, while SIN02, ready to be built for delivery as early as in 2026, will add another 180 MW. These facilities are part of Start Campus’s 1.2 GW SINES Data Campus, built from the ground up to support AI-native workloads, liquid cooling, and high-density compute environments.
Both SIN01 and SIN02 are powered by 100% renewable energy and feature an innovative seawater cooling system, enabling them to operate at a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.1 and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of 0—industry-leading metrics that demonstrate Start Campus’ commitment to environmental responsibility without compromising performance.
This certification was co-led by OCP Foundation team members Mark Dansie and Raúl Àlvarez, working within the Data Center Facilities Project at the OCP.
“The certification of Start Campus’ SIN01 and SIN02 facilities as OCP Ready™ for Hyperscale is a pivotal moment for the European data center landscape. By aligning with the new v2 specifications, Start Campus demonstrates how strategic facility design can deliver on the evolving demands of hyperscale deployments. It’s a blueprint for how sustainability, performance, and openness can come together to meet the future of compute,” said Mark Dansie, OCP Ready™ Facilities Program Co-Lead.
“Start Campus’s OCP Ready™ v2 certification not only highlights its technical excellence, but also its alignment with the OCP Community’s vision of interoperable, efficient, and scalable data center environments. The SIN01 and SIN02 facilities showcase how the latest global standards can be deployed locally to accelerate digital infrastructure and support the next generation of AI and cloud-native workloads,” said Raúl Àlvarez, European Market Development Manager.
This news follows the successful inauguration of SIN01, the first operational facility within the company’s 1.2-gigawatt (GW) Sines Data Campus.
Start Campus’ SIN01 and SIN02 data centers are now listed on the OCP Marketplace: www.opencompute.org/facilities?colocations%5BrefinementList%5D%5Bsolution_provider%5D%5B0%5D=Start%20Campus.
About Start Campus
Start Campus is developing the SINES DC project, a 1.2 GW data center campus in Portugal, creating one of Europe’s largest and most sustainable data ecosystems with market-leading global connectivity. SINES DC provides maximum optionality for customers with powered shell, turn-key and build-to-suit solutions. The company’s advanced offer is AI-ready and addresses the future needs of the industry by integrating liquid cooling technologies into its flexible and scalable design. With a total combined investment value of €8.5bn, the project is set to use 100% renewable energy and targets an industry-leading PUE of 1.1. For more information, visit www.startcampus.pt.
About the Open Compute Project Foundation
The Open Compute Project (OCP) brings at-scale innovations and hyperscaler best practices to all, spanning technology domains from the data center to the edge, and the technology stack from silicon, to systems, to site facilities and services. The international OCP Community is made up of organizations and people from hyperscale and tier-2 cloud data center operators, communications providers, colocation providers, diverse enterprises, and technology vendors. The OCP Foundation fosters collaboration within the Community to tackle market challenges in an array of OCP Projects that create open contributions such as specifications, designs, and more. The OCP Solution Provider Program then recognizes the application of those contributions in compliant products, solutions, and data center facilities and services with designations like OCP Inspired, OCP Accepted and OCP Ready. With the tenets of openness, impact, efficiency, scale and sustainability, the OCP engages and educates thousands of engineers every year through many events and webinars. Across many initiatives the OCP Foundation and Community are meeting the market today and shaping the future. Learn more at: www.opencompute.org.
Media Contacts:
Global
Ruvina Uppal
ruvina.uppal@sourcecodecomms.com
startcampus@sourcecodecomms.com
+44.7464.953.655
Portugal
Beatriz Serrano Rodrigues
bsr@ampassociates.pt
+351.964.124.051
Afonso Azevedo Neves
aan@ampassociates.pt
+351.939.010.613
Open Compute Project
Dirk Van Slyke
dirkv@opencompute.org
+1.303.999.7398
