Dominic Jainy has spent years stitching AI, ML, and blockchain thinking into hard infrastructure decisions. In this conversation, he unpacks how NxN’s Madrid build moves from permits to power-on, how 7.5MW in a 2N design shapes room-by-room choices, and why a waterless cooling strategy matters in a hot city. He discusses budget guardrails around a €20 million envelope, governance under InfraRed’s majority stake, and the interplay with a €500 million, five-year plan across Spain and Portugal. He also weighs ownership versus leasing at a former bank headquarters, drills into layered security and connectivity, and ties Madrid to the Valencia project slated for 2027.
Madrid is slated for a September 2026 go-live with 7.5MW in a 2N design; what milestones must you hit quarter-by-quarter to stay on schedule, and which risks—supply chain, permits, power—worry you most? Please share contingency plans and examples from past builds.
Q1 must lock design and permits, then long-leads. Q2 places switchgear, generators, and UPS orders. Q3 starts fit-out and utility tie-ins. Supply chain slippage is biggest risk, so dual vendors and pre-buys help.
The facility spans 8,500 sqm near Juan Carlos I Park; how are you allocating white space versus back-of-house and security, and what density targets guide the layout? Walk us through your room-by-room planning and any lessons learned from similar urban sites.
White space anchors sightlines and egress paths. Back-of-house wraps it to shorten runs. Security zones hard-stop public from MMRs. Urban sites teach tighter cores and stacked support.
With €20 million earmarked for this asset, how does the budget break down across land or lease, construction, electrical, mechanical, and security? Where do you expect overruns, and what metrics will signal a need to rephase spending?
Electrical and mechanical dominate within €20 million. Lease or land terms set headroom. Overruns usually hit electrical first. Burn-rate and lead-time slips trigger rephase.
A 2N architecture promises high resilience; how are you implementing electrical and mechanical redundancy at each layer, and how will you test failover before launch? Please detail commissioning steps, load banks, and acceptance criteria.
Separate 2N paths from utility to rack. Mechanical follows the same separation. We run staged load-bank tests. Acceptance requires clean transfers and no thermal alarms.
A waterless cooling system is planned; what technology stack are you choosing, and how will it perform during Madrid’s summer peaks? Share PUE targets, thermal design limits, and any trade-offs in footprint, acoustics, or maintenance.
Waterless suits Madrid’s summers and scarcity. Dry coolers and refrigerant loops fit. Footprint grows but risk drops. Acoustics need screens near the park.
The site reuses a former bank headquarters on Abelias Street; what structural or MEP retrofits are required to meet data hall loads, and how do you phase works within an existing shell? Please include anecdotes on unexpected constraints and fixes.
We reinforce floors and risers carefully. Roof gets new plant and screens. MEP shafts are widened in phases. Old vault rooms become secure staging.
Ownership versus leasing appears in play; how do you evaluate balance sheet impact, control over upgrades, and speed-to-market for each path? Describe the governance and decision gates that determine the final structure.
Leasing accelerates the September 2026 date. Ownership deepens control and value. We score WACC, term, and rights. A final gate locks before long-leads.
Security and operational continuity are top priorities; what layered controls—physical, cyber, and procedural—anchor your strategy, and how do you validate them? Share incident drills, SLAs, and metrics you expect customers to see.
Rings of steel, glass, and code work. Dual-factor, cameras, and mantraps layer. Playbooks drive drills and audits. Customers see uptime SLAs and response times.
Madrid is a growing Southern Europe hub; what connectivity mix—carriers, IXPs, cloud on-ramps—are you targeting at launch, and how will you expand it? Describe timelines, partner criteria, and any dark fiber strategies.
Multiple carriers land at day one. An IXP and on-ramps follow. Dark fiber secures path diversity. Expansion aligns with demand bursts.
Valencia is your debut facility, with construction underway and opening slated for 2027; how are you sequencing teams, contractors, and procurement across both cities to avoid resource conflicts? Provide specific dashboards or KPIs you rely on.
Madrid and Valencia share playbooks, not crews. Procurement staggers by milestone dates. Dashboards track ETA and days-to-install. Conflicts trigger swap-outs early.
A €500 million plan spans Spain and Portugal over five years; what market signals trigger site selection, and how do power availability and permitting windows shape your pipeline? Walk us through one recent go/no-go decision.
We watch demand, latency, and land. Power queue time rules the day. Permitting windows set the clock. A slow node moved behind Madrid.
InfraRed holds a majority stake; how does that capital and governance model change your risk tolerance, customer targeting, and pace of expansion? Share how investment committee criteria translate into day-to-day project decisions.
Majority capital sharpens discipline and speed. Gate reviews trim drift and waste. Target customers align with 2N needs. Criteria map to vendor picks and holds.
For prospective customers weighing 2N reliability against cost and latency, how do you structure pricing, contracts, and capacity reservations? Give examples of deal structures, escalation clauses, and build-to-suit options.
We price 2N as a clear tier. Reservations lock MW blocks early. Escalators track indices and term. Build-to-suit aligns halls to use.
Sustainability beyond waterless cooling matters; what steps will you take on renewable sourcing, waste heat reuse, and circular procurement, and how will you verify claims? Please include measurement methods, baselines, and annual improvement targets.
We pursue renewable-backed contracts first. Heat reuse pilots follow load growth. Circular buys target core MEP parts. Audits and meters verify progress yearly.
What is your forecast for Spain’s data center market over the next five years?
Spain will compound on strong hubs. Madrid leads, and Valencia adds depth. The €500 million plan fits the curve. Power pragmatism will decide winners.