Global demand for data centres is evolving swiftly with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and Generative AI, driving the need for larger, more powerful and energy-efficient infrastructure.

Keppel is a leading data centre player with two decades of experience in designing, developing, and operating data centres. With a portfolio of 35 data centres across Asia Pacific and Europe and a gross power capacity of 650 MW, Keppel is ramping up to seize real asset opportunities amid the sector’s rapid growth. 

“We are seeing more cloud players and hyperscalers investing in large-scale data centre projects, or campuses, with power capacities ranging from 50MW to 100MW and to as much as 1 Gigawatt, to meet the intensive computing requirements of AI. The accelerated adoption of AI is also driving up energy consumption at data centres by leaps and bounds. Using AI, and particularly generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, can consume up to ten times more energy than conventional search engines,” said Ms Christina Tan, Keppel’s CEO of Fund Management and CIO, on the burgeoning demand for more innovative and sustainable solutions. 

As a global asset manager and operator, Keppel offers investors access to critical digital infrastructure such as data centres and high-speed subsea cables, with entry points across the risk-return spectrum, leveraging an ambit of core, value add and opportunistic strategies.  

Keppel has laid out ambitious plans in the next few years to expand its data centre portfolio by over 500 MW to 1.2 GW. This growth will be fuelled by an expected S$10 billion in Funds under Management (FUM) from the new Keppel Data Centre Fund III being raised, as well as further co-investments. “We expect to more than double our data centre FUM, from the current S$9 billion to S$19 billion in the near-term,” Ms Tan added.  

Keppel is also working with its European real estate platform, Aermont Capital, on data centres in Europe. Earlier in November 2024, Aermont’s Fund V acquired Nabiax, Spain's leading data centre group and hyperscaler platform, adding another dimension to Keppel’s offerings for the European market. 

A key strength often overlooked is Keppel’s integrated ecosystem, which provides diverse sources of investment funds, capital recycling platforms as well as proprietary capabilities that the Company harnesses to deliver value. 

KDC SGP 7 and KDC SGP 8, two data centres at the Keppel Data Centre Campus in Singapore, were sold by a Keppel-led joint venture to Keppel DC REIT for S$1.38 billion in end-2024. 

In December 2024, a Keppel-led joint venture divested two data centres at the Keppel Data Centre Campus in Singapore to Keppel DC REIT for S$1.38 billion, in one of the largest data centre deals in Southeast Asia. “This transaction generated an IRR of about 50% at three times equity multiple for our private fund and is expected to deliver a distribution accretion of about 8.1% for the REIT,” said Ms Tan, underscoring Keppel’s ability to structure deals with compelling outcomes and strong returns for LPs, REIT investors and customers. She shared that there were further plans for Keppel’s Data Centre Fund II and III to develop a third data centre within the same Campus. 

At the customer’s end, global cloud players are increasingly seeing Keppel as a strong ecosystem partner. In December 2024, Keppel signed a groundbreaking Strategic Framework Agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS), a first of its kind that AWS has signed with a solutions provider at a global level that spans data centres, subsea cables, and renewable energy.  

“At Keppel, we have created a wide moat and a definitive edge with our integrated data centre ecosystem. Keppel is not just a data centre builder and operator but an ecosystem player with the ability to provide power, off grid solutions, green energy, cooling and subsea cable connectivity in addition to data centre solutions,” said Ms Tan. She added that the Agreement with AWS is expected to open doors for future partnerships with other global technology leaders, where Keppel can help drive advancements in the data centre and infrastructure sectors through AI, sustainable solutions and quantum computing. 

More advanced solutions and greater funding will be required to develop large-scale digital infrastructure projects to meet the intensive computing requirements of AI.