Campus Campinas will combine liquid cooling, up to 1 GW of energy capacity and large-scale AI infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs while strengthening Latin America’s position in the global data centre market.
TERRANOVA has broken ground on one of Latin America’s first data centre campuses built specifically for Artificial Intelligence – placing Brazil at the centre of the region’s race to secure high-density computing capacity.
Campus Campinas, located in São Paulo’s Innovation Hub for Sustainable Development, will combine liquid cooling, large-scale energy infrastructure and up to 386 MW of IT capacity. The development is targeting hyperscalers, cloud providers and AI operators confronting rapidly rising requirements for processing power.
The project comes as the global AI boom reshapes data centre design and intensifies competition for electricity, land and specialist infrastructure. With expansion potential of up to 1 GW, TERRANOVA is positioning the campus as a new strategic hub capable of supporting the power-intensive systems driving the next phase of Digital Transformation across Latin America.
Campus Campinas will address these demands through liquid cooling technology operating with a closed water circuit. TERRANOVA said no liquid-cooled data centre was yet operational in Brazil, although several projects were under development. The campus is expected to become the first development in the Campinas region to deploy the technology at scale.
Liquid cooling transfers heat away from high-performance processors more efficiently than conventional air-based systems. According to TERRANOVA, its approach will reduce electricity consumption and virtually eliminate the water used to cool processors. Engineering decisions throughout the campus’s electrical and mechanical design will also reduce the energy required for each unit of computing capacity, lowering operating costs and the development’s carbon footprint.
“The start of construction represents a historic step for TERRANOVA and for digital infrastructure in Latin America,” said Mauricio Giusti, Managing Director, Actis and interim CEO, TERRANOVA.
“We are building a data centre complex designed specifically for the AI era, providing maximum processing capacity for global hyperscalers and using innovative sustainability technologies. This development places Campinas and the state of São Paulo on the global data centre map and demonstrates that building sustainably can reduce operational costs while supporting the environment.”
Campus Campinas will occupy a site covering approximately 944,000 sq m, with around 115,000 sq m allocated to buildings. Approximately 285,000 sq m will be preserved as green areas or donated to the municipality.
The project will also deliver public infrastructure, including roads plus water and sewage treatment stations. TERRANOVA said these measures would balance technological development with environmental preservation and provide benefits for the community.
A substation will have an initial capacity of 300 MW and is scheduled to be ready for energisation in December 2027. The energy infrastructure will have expansion potential of up to 1 GW, supporting the campus’s growth.
The initial phase will provide 216 MW of IT capacity. Land has been reserved for further development, which could increase the total to 386 MW of IT capacity. This scale will enable the complex to accommodate power-intensive AI training, inference and cloud computing environments.
TERRANOVA said construction and installation would involve investment of more than US$500 million during the initial phase. Further expenditure is planned across subsequent implementation stages through 2029.
The company expects end customers to invest more in processors, servers and other technology equipment than TERRANOVA will spend on the site’s core infrastructure. This additional investment could reinforce Campinas’s position as a technology centre and attract suppliers, service providers and specialist talent.
Construction is expected to generate a significant short-term employment boost. At its peak, the programme will involve approximately 3,000 direct and indirect workers. The operational campus will require a smaller but highly specialised workforce, with around 650 professionals expected to work at the site within five years.
TERRANOVA intends to develop partnerships with universities, research centres and training institutions in the Campinas region. These collaborations will focus on preparing people for technical roles associated with data centre operations, energy systems, cooling infrastructure, cloud platforms and AI computing.
The initiative could help build a local pipeline of skilled professionals while connecting academic research with the requirements of a rapidly expanding sector. It may also create opportunities for graduates and experienced engineers as Brazil competes for a larger share of global digital infrastructure investment.
TERRANOVA develops and operates hyperscale data centres across Latin America, with initial activities in Brazil, Mexico and Chile. Its services include greenfield development, capacity expansion, colocation and managed services for hyperscale, AI and cloud customers.
