Financing a sustainable, digital future

Heiko Ludwig, Global Head of Structure Finance at NORD/LB, discusses the findings of the company’s recent report, ‘Power Struggle: Meeting the challenge of financing data centres and the energy transition’, that shows Europe needs a stronger capital market to plug the global $41.7 trillion data centre and net-zero funding gap. Heiko explains how Europe’s fragmented capital market and underdeveloped ABS programmes are limiting access to the funds needed to meet soaring digital and renewable energy demand by 2030, before suggesting ways in which this finding gap can be addressed: the creation of a unified Capital Markets Union to accelerate capital deployment; development of ABS programmes to recycle capital and broaden the investor base; and greater coordination between the data centre and energy worlds to optimise grid connections, co-financing structures and to ensure grid stability.