IREN's 300MW Spanish AI Campus Gets Its Civil Works License as Funding Questions Loom

IREN (IREN) has secured a civil works license for a planned AI data center campus of about 300 megawatts in Badajoz, in Spain's Extremadura region, the first project for its new European business. The company announced the license on Oct. 21 at NVIDIA's GTC Berlin event, alongside the formation of IREN Europe, and is targeting initial operations in 2028. The license is an early-stage permit rather than final building approval, and the site has secured grid-connected power.

The Badajoz campus

IREN says it continues to consult local, regional and national authorities as the project advances, and its release lists permits and grid connections among the risks to the timeline. The announcement did not include investment or financing figures and did not name a customer.

IREN Europe

IREN Europe is the holding company for the company's European operations. It is chaired by Ángel Corcóstegui, the former Banco Santander chief executive, with Roberto Purcaro, formerly of Macquarie Capital, as executive director for Europe. IREN entered the region in June 2026 by acquiring Spanish data center developer Nostrum Group, which brought a team of more than 60 people. Purcaro said Badajoz is where IREN Europe begins, and that it will develop and operate its own sites.

The pitch centers on sovereign AI, the idea that governments and regulated industries want AI infrastructure whose location and operator are under European control. Co-CEO Daniel Roberts said sovereignty depends on where data sits and who runs the infrastructure. IREN plans managed AI cloud services from Badajoz and, following its Mirantis acquisition, intends to offer software such as k0rdent AI, which integrates NVIDIA tools including Infra Controller and Run:ai, alongside its European capacity.

How the stock is trading

The shares are down about 42% over the past month, according to published reports, and hit a 52-week low shortly before the Oct. 21 rebound. Investors have focused on how AI infrastructure is paid for. Published analysis puts IREN's capital spending for the fiscal year ended June 2026 at $4.33 billion, roughly double the $2.1 billion generated from operations, and expects revenue to grow from $707 million to $15 billion by fiscal 2029. By our calculation, spending was about 2.1 times operating cash flow. Unlike peers that lease space to tenants, IREN owns its GPUs and sells AI cloud compute directly, so hardware obsolescence risk stays on its own books.

What to watch

• Earnings. IREN reports fiscal first-quarter results on Thursday, Nov. 5, with a call at 5 p.m. ET, covering the quarter ended Sept. 30. See the company announcement.
• Financing. Any detail on how Badajoz and the wider build-out will be funded, and whether a European customer is signed before construction.
• Permits. Further approvals beyond the civil works license, which are a risk to the 2028 target in IREN's own disclosures.
• Sector tone. The stock has traded with the AI infrastructure group. See our Research Desk analysis and our coverage of the Anthropic S-1 amendment, which shows the scale of AI compute commitments.

Sources: IREN's announcement of IREN Europe and the Badajoz campus (Oct. 21) and its Form 10-K for risk factors. Share moves and financial analysis come from published reports and market data and will change. The 2028 timeline and customer plans are targets, not completed results. Items labeled by our calculation are our own arithmetic. This article is informational only and is not investment advice.