DC Power Talks continues to bring the industry's most influential voices together in a series of exclusive interviews with leaders who are shaping the direction of the industry. Throughout the year, we will explore key topics such as sustainability, infrastructure expansion, AI adoption and investment strategies.

On this occasion, we spoke with Ricardo Abad, CEO and founder of Quark, to learn how the company has positioned itself as a key player in the design and construction of data centers, driving growth through innovation and internationalization. We talk about the challenges posed by the growing energy demand, the impact of artificial intelligence on infrastructure design and the role that power generation will play in the future of the sector. We also analyze the rise of Spain as a strategic hub for the industry and the opportunities this represents.

Quark has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, consolidating its position as a benchmark in the design and construction of data centers in Europe. What do you think have been the key strategies that have driven this growth and leadership in the sector?

The most important strategy is our attitude towards our customers, adapting to their processes and way of working, very different from the traditional way of working in Spain. We always do it, with a spirit of learning and trying to make their lives easier.

On the other hand, since 2020, to anticipate the explosion of the market that was coming. We took a big risk in the sense of investing in digitization and staffing ourselves with more people than necessary, because we knew that the demand was going to come.

Quark has recently expanded its international presence with the opening of subsidiaries in Portugal... last year it also did so in Germany, in addition to winning projects in France. What opportunities and challenges have you found in these new markets, and how are you adapting your strategy to consolidate in them?

We are in a very incipient phase in terms of internationalization, although it already represents a significant turnover. So far, whenever we have opened in a country, it has always been because a client has taken us there with a relevant project.

Each country has a different way of working, mainly in terms of permits, but also in terms of fees, actors involved in the project, etc.

What innovative technologies and practices are you implementing to make data centers more efficient and environmentally friendly?

As one of the leading engineering colocation operators, we are always state of the art in the industry. We take care in the design, the use of recycled or local materials, we are incorporating materials such as wood at the structural level in certain parts of the building...Virtually all of our projects have LEED or BREEAM sustainability certification.

But what I am most excited about at the moment is the incorporation of the energy generation part, with my colleagues from Sener Energy, in the Data Center project itself. We are talking about renewable generation, hybridization, energy storage, self-consumption... It will be the new paradigm.

AI is revolutionizing many industries, and data centers are no exception. How is AI affecting the design and operation of these infrastructures (taking into account key aspects such as energy efficiency, automation, sustainability...), and what initiatives is Quark developing in this area?

At the moment it only affects us in terms of building requirements, with much higher power density, different cooling systems, different interior space distribution and much higher structural overloads.

The data center industry is facing increasingly complex challenges: growing energy demands, regulatory pressure, shortage of skilled talent .... From your perspective, what do you think are the main challenges facing the industry today and how is Quark preparing for them?

Energy demand requires a certain learning curve for everyone. You have to get used to planning in the medium/long term if you want to do a 500 MW project, for example. We only ask the Administration to be sensitive to the problem in terms of deadlines and to think about how to streamline the planning of transmission networks. Not only for data centers, but for all industries that require energy such as hydrogen production.

Regarding the talent shortage, we are taking several actions. We are repatriating professionals who had to leave to work in other countries, we are mentoring junior personnel we see with desire and development potential, and we are transferring professionals from other Sener divisions to Quark.

At the same time, we are seeing how Spain has consolidated its position as a strategic hub for CD, attracting investments from both national and international companies. Regions such as Madrid, Barcelona, Aragon... are experiencing a great momentum. How do you assess this evolution of the sector in Spain and what opportunities do you think it presents? What would you say to those who view this expansion with skepticism and not as a beneficial development engine for the economy and society?

I would tell them that it is a historic opportunity, which has come about due to the confluence of several separate factors, geographical location, connectivity by submarine cables and abundance of renewable energy.

Society has to understand that we are talking about critical infrastructures, which are necessary for the functioning of the digital economy, which surrounds us 24 hours a day in our daily chores and in our jobs. It creates quality jobs and will allow the improvement of our lives in a cross-cutting way in all sectors we can imagine.

Throughout your career, you have developed numerous innovative projects in the data center sector. But if you had to choose the jewel in the crown, the project that marked a before and after for Quark-whether for its complexity, impact, innovation or how it made you grow as a company-what would it be? What makes it so special for you?

Without a doubt, the Portugal Telecom Data Center in Covilha. We implemented technical solutions that were 10 years ahead of the industry and that today make it look like a timeless building. It made us take away any complexes we might have had to compete at an international level.

Fan walls, adiabatic cooling, photovoltaic plant attached to the building, rainwater recovery for use in the HVAC system, energy distribution through parallel blocks, high-density zones... All this led to multiple international awards, including the Brill Award for the best Data Center design in EMEA in 2014, awarded by the Uptime Institute in California.

The data center industry is constantly evolving, with new challenges and opportunities on the horizon. Where do you see the industry heading in the next five years and what role will Quark play in that future?

We believe that the sector is in a phase of mutation from the real estate sector to the energy sector. The magnitude of the projects makes the energy part of them more important every day, and I am referring specifically to the generation part and its interaction with the rest of the electrical system of a region or a country.

This fact, due to our belonging to the Sener group, with great expertise in energy, puts us in an enviable position with a differential know-how. Our vision is that Quark will be a very relevant player in this sector worldwide and will appear in large-scale projects where it is necessary to solve complex problems with innovative technologies.