Europe

It’s time for AI infrastructure engineering

June 18, 2026

The rapid development of AI and cloud computing is driving the construction of ever more powerful data centres. Industrial valves play a key role in the reliability of cooling systems and the overall efficiency of the infrastructure, which is essential for the safety of the installations and uninterrupted 24-hour operation. This is an extremely promising market, in which the Polish manufacturer Zetkama, part of the Mangata Holding, is becoming one of the key suppliers. The company also offers valves with bronze internal components, which can be used in cooling systems utilising seawater.

– Alongside these investments, demand for reliable and energy-efficient cooling systems is growing. We have the necessary experience and technology, as well as a range of valves and flow control solutions designed for mission-critical applications in data centre cooling systems. We provide not only high-quality valves, but also technical support, product availability and rapid service wherever it is needed – emphasises Marek Felsztyński, CEO of Zetkama.

The world is investing in data centres

According to the latest data from fDi Markets, data centres accounted for almost half of all announced greenfield foreign investments in Western Europe during the first nine months of 2025. There is no doubt that the data centre sector has become one of the fastest-growing infrastructure markets in the world. Between January and 10 December 2025, the Uptime Institute recorded 127 announcements of large data centre projects with an electricity demand of at least 100 megawatts. It is worth noting, however, as it illustrates the scale of the cooling challenges involved, that the average electricity demand of these data centres has more than doubled, from 610 megawatts to 1.4 gigawatts.

– The data centre cooling market is indeed very attractive – it is growing rapidly, but at the same time it imposes high technological and quality demands. Our key strength lies in our many years of experience in the design and manufacture of advanced industrial solutions, as well as our in-depth understanding of our customers’ requirements in terms of reliability, efficiency and production quality. We also place great emphasis on the continuous improvement of products and technologies – both through design optimisation and the development of production processes. In practice, this means that we not only adapt solutions to specific applications, but also actively develop new products and technologies to meet the growing demands of data centre infrastructure – explains Marek Felsztyński.

According to data from the consultancy firm JLL, the FLAP-D data centre markets (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin) remain the largest markets in Europe in terms of colocation operations. However, there has been an increase in activity in other countries, such as Spain, Portugal, Poland and the Nordic countries.

Increasing cooling problems

The scale of the challenges extends beyond access to electricity to include essential water supplies. Let’s not forget that servers and routers in data centres operate at high capacity and generate a great deal of heat. To cool them down, data centres consume vast quantities of water.

According to The New York Times, the average data centre consumes nearly 2 million litres of water a day^[1]. Meanwhile, as Peyton McCauley and Melissa Scanlan report on the academic website The Conversation, Google used nearly 23 billion litres of water to cool its data centres in 2023. – This illustrates the scale of the challenges facing the equipment that forms part of closed-loop cooling systems^[2]. What’s more, the cooling system must continue to operate even during maintenance work – notes Robert Wojtynek, Director of Strategy and Development at Zetkama, adding: The data centre market is global, so having a product offering is merely a starting point. In practice, this means we need to further strengthen our technological expertise and expand our research and development activities. Growing demands for energy efficiency, reliability and the performance of cooling systems mean the market is evolving very rapidly. That is why we are simultaneously working on new product solutions, including the development of stainless steel valves for data centre cooling systems. At the same time, we are investing in new production technologies, including the automation of selected processes, which allows us to increase efficiency, quality consistency and production scalability – assures Robert Wojtynek.

This combination of product, material and technological development is crucial to effectively compete in the global data centre infrastructure market in the long term.

The Holding is investing for the long term

In times of global uncertainty, with trade restrictions and customs barriers emerging and changing just as rapidly, one of Poland’s largest private industrial groups – Mangata Holding – maintains its operational efficiency and flexibility, as well as its ability to respond swiftly to changing conditions.

Today, no one doubts that the global digital economy is increasingly dependent on data centres. The rapid growth of the data centre industry is driven by the widespread adoption of innovative applications, including AI. Just a dozen or so years ago, when we thought or spoke of a server room, we usually meant a room or a small building – depending on the company – where corporate computer networks and databases converged. Today, it is a network of interconnected, high-performance facilities spanning the globe, enabling every digital interaction. The solutions developed at Zetkama are designed to ensure that the exchange of information proceeds without disruption.

– So, unless we’re planning to build a server room in a cool climate, such as the far north, we won’t be able to avoid using water – and, by extension, the technology we’ve developed at Zetkama – argues Robert Wojtynek.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/technology/meta-data-center-water.html.