23/06/2026
AI’s stratospheric growth is transforming the global economy. Alongside this revolution, data centers are taking center stage and redefining energy, technology, and industrial paradigms.
The growing strategic importance of data centers is driving economic development and transforming the way investments are planned, construction projects are executed, and operations are managed. In this context, risk management becomes a critical factor to ensure resilience and continuity.
At the XXX Mapfre Global Risks International Seminar, Iván Delgado, Risk, Services, and Concessions manager at ACS, addressed the increasingly relevant role of data centers and reviewed the company’s evolution in this sector, supported by the experience developed by its international subsidiaries.
From builders to developers
The global turning point occurred between 2023 and 2024, on the back of the AI boom and demand for computational capacity. That‘s when ACS identified data centers as a strategic long-term investment and development asset. This transformation was complex, as it involved moving from executing projects to leading them from their conception, incorporating everything from land acquisition to the final operation, including design, zoning, construction, and equipment management throughout the entire life cycle. The objective was to “address the entire data center value chain, meeting the demand of hyperscalers with significant needs and very strict standards,” he stated.
To take this quantum leap forward, the company needed a financial partner capable of assuming the high volume of capital required, and this arrived in 2025, in the form of BlackRock, who through its Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) arm, created a 50/50 platform for the construction and management of state-of-the-art data centers worldwide.
This alliance aims to develop infrastructure in Europe, America, Asia, and Australia, with a current portfolio of seven assets — four of them in Spain — representing more than 1.7GW of capacity and an investment exceeding 15 billion dollars. “We intend, in the next five years, to contribute an additional 1.3GW, if not more, in order to match the speed at which data centers are advancing,” he announced.
Challenges of managing the entire value chain
The availability of land to build data centers is no longer a determining factor: The critical aspect is energy adequacy and connection capacity, which completely condition the viability of the project. “You can buy all the land you want to build data centers, but if you don’t have a guaranteed energy supply, you can’t do anything,” he explained.
Once the site has been validated, the platform ACS participates in structures its activity into four major phases: soil and energy acquisition, design and permits, construction and provision of critical equipment, and finally, operation, in line with extremely demanding service level agreements (SLAs).
This business model is closely linked to large hyperscalers such as Amazon, Google, Meta, or Microsoft. Their demand for computational capacity grows exponentially and they operate with especially rigorous contracts, both in construction and operation.
Currently, data centers of up to a gigawatt (GW) are being planned, with investments that can reach between 20 and 40 billion dollars if the value of internal teams is included. This level of complexity transforms the risk profile. It’s no longer just about building infrastructure, and more about ensuring service continuity.
The challenge of operational continuity
The evolution of data centers is also forcing a reconsideration of risk transfer strategies. As these facilities become increasingly bigger and more powerful, and house critical assets, insurance takes on a more significant role in ensuring business continuity.
The platform driven by ACS and BlackRock has defined and implemented a comprehensive risk and insurance management program aimed at protecting assets throughout their entire life cycle. The objective is to protect both the infrastructure and the responsibilities derived from its operation in an environment characterized by high levels of contractual demand.
The coverages include traditional risks, such as property damage, third-party liability, or third-party claims, but also more specific exposures associated with this type of infrastructure, among them loss of earnings, mission-critical equipment damage, or damage caused to tenant ownership. This reality responds to strict contractual conditions that associate delays or non-compliance with the committed service levels to significant economic penalties.
In some projects, the value of the equipment installed by the hyperscalers can reach double or triple the cost of building the infrastructure itself, raising the total exposure to tens of billions of dollars. This scenario demands increasingly sophisticated insurance structures and close collaboration among operators, brokers, insurers, and reinsurers.
Transcending traditional insurance
During his presentation, Iván Delgado noted that not all risks are transferable to the insurance market and that some require alternative mitigation approaches or complementary mechanisms, such as parametric solutions. “Data centers, ever bigger and consuming hundreds of MW and even GW, will require a significantly higher insurance capacity to cover their growing operational, technological, and energy risks,” he emphasized during his presentation. These formulas facilitate complementing traditional protection where conventional coverage encounters limitations.
While the economic value and criticality of these assets grow exponentially, available insurance capacity remains relatively limited. As far as ACS is concerned, developing new solutions and boosting market capacity will be key factors in accompanying the growth of an infrastructure asset that’s being called on to support the growth of AI and become one of the pillars of the new digital economy.
If you want to learn more about ACS’ strategic vision, don’t miss the presentation “Data Centers: drivers of the new digital economy.”
