ctg. morning brief, 30 aug 2026
On 30 Aug 2026, Spain's draft royal decree for data centres over 1 MW: 80% additional renewables, proven hour by hour, plus an EU operator. Consultation through 4 sep. The AI plan assumes 2.5 GW of compute by 2030 (3.5 to 4 GW of power). More than 12 GW of grid rights already granted since 2021.
Why it matters: The bottleneck is the connection, not another turbine chart. Madrid is tying watts to new steel and to European control. A decision the rest of Europe still has to make.
Source: https://digital.gob.es/comunicacion/notas-prensa/mtdfp/2026/08/el-gobierno-plantea-impulsar-los-centros-de-datos-sostenibles--e
Wolfram Europa: €200m explosives plant near jekabpils, Latvia. 300 t RDX or 100 t HMX, 100,000 anti-tank mines and 200,000 warheads a year, production from 2027. The company says Russia outproduces Europe ~3:1.
Why it matters: Europe is buying platforms faster than the stuff that fills them. The explosives gap is the unglamorous half of rearmament.
Source: https://defence-industry.eu/wolfram-europa-plans-e200-million-latvian-explosives-complex-to-produce-rdx-hmx-warheads-and-anti-tank-mines/
Zuri, Prague, unveiled an uncrewed cargo VTOL: 165 kg useful load, 679 km design range, 220 km/h. Raising a €6m series a first tranche (€1.1m already in). Flight tests early 2027.
Why it matters: A Czech hybrid tiltrotor with real numbers, ITAR-free, built here. A local signal, not a long read.
Source: https://zuri.com/news/zuri-unveils-uncrewed-cargo-vtol
Washington is talking about tariffs not just on chips but on the boxes that use them, including data-centre servers. Politico via Reuters, 27 aug. The white house says treat it as speculation until they announce it.
Why it matters: If it lands, European compute just got more expensive. It has not landed.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-weighs-new-round-tariffs-semiconductors-politico-reports-2026-08-27/