Core Stack JV is adding two facilities near Cremona and Verona, which are in advanced planning stages, to its €1bn Italy network.

Lazzari Group's digital infrastructure business, Core Stack, and private equity firm Green Arrow Capital have revealed further plans for a data center network across Italy.

The joint venture will build 13 medium-sized data centers backed by more than €1 billion ($1.16 billion) in investment, Italy's news agency ANSA reported. The facilities will be developed in industrial areas nationwide, starting in the north and northeast before moving to the center-south of the country.

The permit process for two facilities on brownfield sites near the cities of Cremona and Verona is in advanced stages, according to ANSA. Construction of these data centers is expected to begin at the end of 2027, with a first-quarter 2028 go-live target.

Each new data center will have a renewable energy plant next to it to support its operations. The JV expects this approach will allow it to identify and generate electrical capacity suited to growing digital demand. It is also considering installing battery energy storage systems (BESS), developed in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Milan, to improve the data centers' energy performance.

The plans follow the earlier announcement of the JV between Green Arrow Capital and Gruppo Lazzari's Core Stack to invest in renewable data centers across Italy. At the time, the JV said it had a "substantial" pipeline of projects, with a "significant share" expected to receive construction approval in 2026.

With this network, the JV aims to establish a "benchmark for a new model of Italian data centers" that are local, sustainable, and feature on-site renewable energy generation.

The investment is being made through GAIF II, Green Arrow Capital's second fund dedicated to energy and digital infrastructure, which is currently in the fundraising phase.