Submer Group, the full-stack AI infrastructure company, has announced that it will invest more than €1 billion in the former Ercros plant in Flix, Catalonia, to develop a next-generation, sustainable artificial intelligence data center to help drive investment in AI applications and services. 

The large-scale facility will provide the physical infrastructure that AI computing increasingly depends on: the power, land, cooling, and buildings necessary to run next-generation IT applications at scale. By developing capacity in Catalonia, the project will be well positioned to meet the exponential requirements of European sovereign AI infrastructure, while also strengthening the region’s own digital economy. 

The new facility will be developed and operated by Rubix Data Centers, a Submer Group company specializing in the development and operation of AI data centers. The project was revealed at a high-profile media event on Saturday July 11 led by the President of the Government of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, accompanied by the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper. 

As part of Submer Group, Rubix will deploy its develop-and-operate model through which the facility is built and then run by Rubix to agreed service levels for a third-party long-term tenant, drawing on a leadership team with decades of experience delivering data centers at scale. The data center is designed using the latest energy efficient liquid cooling technology, which uses no water during operations. 

The project was signed within the framework of the reindustrialization round tables initiative, task forces formed to ensure former industrial plants transition into new use, and with the support of the Government of Catalonia’s Department of Business and Labor. It is planned to be developed in two phases, and on completion, is expected to provide up to 150 permanent jobs covering operations & maintenance, critical facilities engineering, facilities management, security, site services, and operator support.   

Patrick Smets, CEO of Submer, said:   

As a European company, Submer Group is proud to be part of the reindustrialization of Flix, and the positioning of Spain as a leader in AI infrastructure development. The Flix site has notable industrial heritage, and it is where our vision for AI infrastructure can start to take shape. As demand accelerates, we will expand across the full stack, from land and power to cloud and edge, and we are building where it creates the most lasting value. Returning this site to productive use, with durable infrastructure and long-term local partnerships, is exactly the kind of initiative we want to be known for.

John Eland, CEO of Rubix Data Centers, said:

We intend to operate the facility we are building here, so we are not simply passing through Flix. Instead, we are committing to Flix for the long term, working alongside the local community and the administration, and creating skilled local jobs as the site returns to productive use.

About Submer Group  

Submer Group brings together specialist operating companies across the AI infrastructure stack to close the gap between AI ambition and AI reality. Built on a decade of infrastructure engineering and now spanning from land and power to cloud and edge. The group is built to address the structural constraints of AI infrastructure, namely power availability, thermal density, deployment speed and data sovereignty, enabling AI to be deployed efficiently and at scale. The group has deployed 500 MW+ of liquid-cooled infrastructure and holds 8 GW+ of powered land across the Americas, EMEA and APAC. Founded in Barcelona in 2015, the group operates globally, with hubs in Houston and Taipei. Submer.com  

About Rubix Data Centers 

Rubix Data Centers, part of Submer Group, develops and operates AI data center campuses worldwide. Headquartered in London, Rubix is focused on the foundational layer of AI infrastructure, delivering the physical environments required to support large-scale AI and cloud deployments. 

Rubix’s capabilities span the full data center development process, addressing the increasing constraints around land availability, grid access, and deployment timelines. Rubix operates as an independent development and delivery partner as well as in collaboration with the Submer group of companies. 

To learn more visit rubixdc.com. 

Media Enquiries 

flixdatacenters@submer.com