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Chapter II – Strategic projects (Art. 14)

Art. 14 Cloud and AI Development Act - Designation of data centre strategic projects arrow_right_alt

  1. The Commission may, by means of a decision, designate as strategic projects, data centre projects selected through open calls for expressions of interest that fulfil at least two of the following criteria:
    1. the project establishes and operates infrastructure that directly supports and enhances essential public sector functions, including research and education, healthcare, public safety and security;
    2. the project includes highly sustainable or innovative features, including technologies and solutions developed under Title II;
    3. the project contributes to the security, safety, and stability of the electricity grid and contributes to the electricity system needs as evaluated by the relevant system operator, in particular for projects involving the colocation of large clean energy generation and storage facilities;
    4. the project supports the integration of chips, processors and accelerators, servers or quantum computers designed and/or manufactured in the Union into data centre systems or data centre facility management, thereby strengthening the Union semiconductor, quantum and data centre supply chains and contributing to the objectives of this Regulation and of Regulation (EU) 2023/1781;
    5. the project addresses a major shortage of compute capacity in an area identified as having such a shortage under Article 15 and contributes significantly to the growth, development and promotion of the local economy.
  2. In its proposal, the applicant shall provide all the necessary and relevant information to demonstrate that the project fulfils the relevant criteria.
  3. The duration of the designation as a strategic project shall be based on the predicted lifetime of the project. The applicant shall include in the proposal the information necessary to substantiate the predicted lifetime of the project, on the basis of which the duration of the designation as strategic project shall be determined.
  4. Where the Commission finds that a project designated as a strategic project no longer fulfils the relevant criteria, or where its designation was based on an application containing incorrect information affecting compliance with those criteria, it may withdraw the designation of that project by means of a decision. Projects for which the designation as a strategic project has been withdrawn shall lose all rights connected to that status under this Regulation.