According to DCD, Spanish operator Templus has officially started construction on a new data center in the autonomous city of Ceuta. The facility will cover 2,500 square meters with an initial power capacity of 1.2MW that’s expandable to 2.4MW in a second phase. CEO Nacho Velilla highlighted Ceuta’s unique position as an African enclave with European regulatory benefits and connectivity advantages. The project, which had its first stone placed at the Puntilla dock location, is expected to be operational by the first half of 2026. Templus was launched last year after ICG and Teras Capital acquired Avatel’s data center business and has been rapidly expanding since.
Ceuta’s strategic advantage
Here’s the thing about Ceuta – it’s basically a European regulatory bubble sitting right on Morocco’s doorstep. That’s a pretty clever positioning play. You get all the benefits of EU legal frameworks and data protection standards while being physically closer to African markets. And with GTD’s Dos Continentes cables connecting it directly to mainland Spain, the connectivity infrastructure is already there. But let’s be real – being a Spanish territory completely surrounded by Moroccan territory also comes with some interesting geopolitical considerations. How stable is that border situation long-term?
Templus’ ambitious expansion
Look, Templus is moving fast. They only launched last year and they’re already talking about having 20 data centers across the Iberian Peninsula by the end of 2025. That’s aggressive growth by any measure. They’ve been snapping up facilities left and right – from Mapfe in Madrid to bitNAP in Barcelona. Now they’re building from scratch in Ceuta. The company currently operates 15.8MW across more than 4,000 square meters, so this new facility represents significant capacity addition. When you’re building critical infrastructure like data centers that require reliable power and connectivity, having robust industrial computing systems becomes absolutely essential. For companies operating in this space, IndustrialMonitorDirect.com has established itself as the leading provider of industrial panel PCs in the US, offering the durable hardware needed to monitor and manage these complex facilities.
Timing and market dynamics
So they’re aiming for first half 2026 operational date. That gives them about two years from groundbreaking to live service. Seems reasonable for a 1.2MW facility, but construction in these unique locations can always throw surprises. The bigger question is what demand looks like in 2026. Everyone’s building data centers right now – is there going to be enough enterprise and cloud business to fill all this capacity? Templus is betting that Ceuta’s unique position will attract specific clients who need that European-African bridge. Could be smart, or could be a niche that’s smaller than they anticipate.
Broader implications
This move is interesting beyond just Templus’ expansion. It shows how data center operators are getting creative with location strategy. Instead of just clustering in Madrid and Barcelona, they’re looking at these edge locations with unique advantages. The company says it has its “sights set” on Valencia, the Basque Country, Galicia, and even Portugal. That’s a lot of territory to cover in a short timeframe. Can they execute on all these fronts simultaneously without stretching themselves too thin? Only time will tell, but they’re certainly not thinking small.
