Poland’s state research institute NASK has set out how it will build the country’s National Data Processing Centre (KCPD), a PLN 1.6bn facility for critical government digital services designed to grow module by module. The first stage is planned at 15MW, with server heat reuse and a longer-term plan to replace diesel back-up with hydrogen.

What NASK announced

In an update published on 27 October 2026, NASK said the KCPD will consolidate core public systems that are currently spread across separate server rooms run by individual institutions, with varying levels of security and modernity. Services to be hosted include state registries, the mObywatel digital identity app, the e-prescription system, online administration platforms and healthcare systems such as electronic medical records.

The centre is to be built from connected modules, added as demand for state digital services grows, so that capacity can expand without interrupting segments already in operation. Power, cooling and connectivity are each to have redundant back-up, and the site is to be protected to the standard of other strategic state installations against intrusion, failure, extreme weather and sabotage.

NASK director Radosław Nielek said the aim was to keep these services running continuously.

The key numbers

• 15MW of capacity planned at the current stage.
• About 200km of NASK-owned fibre-optic network linked to the project.
• PLN 1.6bn total project value, with PLN 1.56bn of co-financing under the European Funds for Digital Development 2021–2027 (FERC) programme: about PLN 1.44bn (92.33%) from the EU’s Regional Development Fund and about PLN 119m (7.67%) from the state budget.
• 1 November 2023 to 31 May 2029: the project’s implementation period.

NASK’s update did not name the site or sites. Polish IT trade title CRN reported in September, when the EU funding agreement was signed, that the KCPD is planned as three data centres in different parts of the country linked by fibre, and that estimated costs have roughly doubled since the project was announced in 2022.

Energy design: heat pumps, hydrogen and a digital twin

Waste heat from servers will feed heat pumps and could later warm nearby buildings. NASK also plans to use part of the output from solar installations to produce hydrogen, which over time may replace conventional diesel back-up generators – something it describes as among the first such projects at a Polish data centre. A real-time 3D digital twin of the buildings and systems is planned to support fault detection, maintenance planning and energy optimisation.

The update follows an agreement signed in October between NASK and state utility PGE to cooperate on further data centre development in Poland, with PGE reviewing potential sites within its group. No capacities or investment figures have been published for that initiative.

Why it matters for modular and edge in Europe

The KCPD is a clear example of a European government choosing a phased, modular build for sovereign public infrastructure rather than a single monolithic facility. Starting at 15MW and adding blocks as demand materialises limits up-front capital risk and allows newer power and cooling equipment to be adopted in later phases – the same logic that underpins prefabricated and containerised designs.

With the bulk of the funding coming from EU cohesion money and a delivery deadline of May 2029, the project is also likely to generate procurement for modular power, cooling and back-up systems in Central and Eastern Europe. Its approach to hydrogen back-up and heat reuse will be watched by other public bodies weighing how to consolidate dispersed server rooms into resilient, energy-efficient national platforms.

Sources

• NASK: “Cyfrowe usługi bez przerwy. NASK buduje nowe centrum danych” (27 October 2026, in Polish)
• CRN Polska: funding agreement for state data centres (30 September 2026, in Polish)
• Evertiq: PGE and NASK plan joint data centre investments (22 October 2026, in Polish)
• ITReseller: NASK reveals details of PLN 1.6bn data centre (28 October 2026, in Polish)