Eni AI Data Centers, 500 MW Khazna Project, €100 M Venture Fund, and 2 Major Agreements (2025 to 2026)

AI Infrastructure, Eni’s Pivot From Energy User to Provider

In 2025, Italian energy major Eni executed a definitive strategic pivot, transforming its role from an internal consumer of high-performance computing to a foundational provider for the artificial intelligence industry. This shift is defined by a new strategy to build, own, and power large-scale AI data center infrastructure, directly addressing the massive energy consumption that constrains AI development and creating a new, synergistic business line.

Eni’s HPC 6 as an Internal Catalyst

The foundation for this strategic pivot was built upon years of developing powerful in-house computational capabilities. Eni’s primary internal asset, the HPC 6 supercomputer, has been central to accelerating the company’s own research and operational efficiency. The development of proprietary tools like “Energ IA, ” a generative AI tool launched in June 2025 to streamline internal information access, demonstrated a mature application of AI within its own operations. This internal expertise provided the technical confidence and the core infrastructure asset to pursue a more ambitious, external-facing strategy.

The 2025 Infrastructure Pivot

The company’s commercial strategy evolved significantly in 2025 from internal optimization to external monetization. This change is best exemplified by two key initiatives. First, the ‘Call 4 Innovators’ program, which selected its first projects in December 2025, began the process of opening Eni’s computational resources to external startups and researchers. Second, and more significantly, was the move into physical infrastructure with the planned 500 MW AI data center campus in Italy. This represents a fundamental transition from just using software to building the physical layer of the AI ecosystem.

€7 B in Capex, Eni’s Financial Commitment to AI and Energy Transition

Eni’s pivot into AI infrastructure is supported by substantial financial commitments outlined in its strategic planning, integrating its digital ambitions within a broader, multi-billion-euro capital expenditure program. The company is not just making a tactical move but is allocating significant capital to build a new business vertical that complements its energy transition goals.

Eni Next’s €100 M Venture Fund

To cultivate an ecosystem of innovation alongside its large infrastructure projects, Eni is deploying capital at the startup level. Through its corporate venture capital arm, Eni Next, the company partnered with Azimut in June 2025 to launch a European Long-Term Investment Fund. The fund, targeting a €100 million raise, is designed to invest in high-growth energy tech startups, which will include AI-driven solutions that can be scaled using Eni’s emerging infrastructure.

Eni’s Strategic R&D and Capex

The company’s broader financial strategy provides the necessary firepower for its AI ambitions. In 2025, Eni invested over €460 million in Research & Development, a budget that supports AI alongside other key technologies like biofuels and carbon capture. More importantly, its strategic plan for 2025-2028 earmarks a net capital expenditure of approximately €7 billion per year. This large-scale investment capacity is what makes a project like the 1 GW-scalable AI data center campus feasible.

Table: Eni Key Financial Commitments and Investments (2025-2028)

Eni’s 2 Major AI Partnerships, Khazna and UAE Government (2025)

Eni secured its entry into the competitive AI infrastructure market by forming critical partnerships in 2025. These alliances are designed to combine its core competency in delivering large, complex energy projects with the specialized operational expertise of established data center firms and the strategic backing of governments.

The Khazna 500 MW Data Center Project

The cornerstone of Eni’s AI infrastructure strategy is the partnership with Dubai-based Khazna Data Centers, announced in July 2025. This preliminary agreement establishes a joint venture to develop a major AI data center campus in Lombardy, Italy. The project’s initial 500 MW capacity, with plans to scale to 1 GW, signals a massive commitment. The partnership structure is key, leveraging Khazna’s experience in data center design, development, and operation while Eni provides the land, manages the project, and, most critically, secures and supplies the sustainable energy required to power it.

UAE Government Strategic Framework

The Khazna deal is reinforced by a wider, government-level collaboration. In February 2025, Eni announced an expansion of its collaboration with the United Arab Emirates in the data center sector. This agreement falls under a Tripartite Strategic Partnership Framework between the governments of Italy, Albania, and the UAE. This high-level backing provides a stable, long-term framework for cross-border investment and de-risks Eni’s expansion into a new sector by aligning it with national strategic interests.

Table: Eni Strategic AI and Infrastructure Partnerships (2025)

Italy as a Hub, Eni’s AI Data Center Strategy

Eni is leveraging its domestic presence and energy assets to strategically position Italy as a new and critical European hub for AI infrastructure. By concentrating its initial flagship project in Lombardy, the company aims to create a gravitational center for AI development that is powered by sustainable energy, addressing a key need for the technology sector.

• The selection of Lombardy, near Milan, for the 500 MW AI data center campus is a calculated decision. The region is one of Italy’s primary industrial and financial centers, ensuring proximity to potential customers and a skilled workforce.
• Eni’s strategy is to create a powerful synergy between its renewable energy portfolio and the immense power demands of AI. By developing green data centers, it not only provides a solution to AI’s sustainability problem but also creates a captive, high-demand customer for its own energy generation assets.
• The partnership with the UAE and Khazna establishes an international investment corridor into Italy. This positions Eni’s project not as a standalone national initiative, but as a key node in a global network of digital infrastructure, enhancing its attractiveness to multinational technology companies.

HPC to Commercial Service, Eni’s Maturing AI Capabilities

In 2025, Eni’s technology strategy clearly progressed from developing powerful internal tools to commercializing its capabilities as an external service provider. This maturation is visible in the transition from using its supercomputers as an internal research asset to offering them as a platform for a broader innovation ecosystem, underpinned by the construction of physical data centers.

• The company’s foundation is its sophisticated internal technology stack, including the HPC 6 supercomputer and the proprietary “Energ IA” generative AI tool. These assets demonstrate a high level of technical proficiency and provide a testbed for the services Eni plans to offer externally.
• The move to externalize these capabilities began with the ‘Call 4 Innovators’ program, which grants outside projects access to HPC 6. This was followed by the announcement in July 2026 of a formal initiative to open its supercomputing capabilities to the innovation ecosystem, marking a clear shift toward an HPC-as-a-service model.
• The development of the 500 MW data center with Khazna represents the final stage of this maturation. By building the foundational physical infrastructure, Eni is moving up the value chain from being just an AI user to becoming a full-stack enabler of the AI industry, from power generation to data processing.

SWOT Analysis, Eni’s AI Infrastructure Pivot Strengths and Risks

Eni’s strategic pivot into AI infrastructure leverages its core strength in managing complex, capital-intensive energy projects but simultaneously exposes the company to new market risks and competitive pressures from the technology sector.

Table: SWOT Analysis for Eni’s AI Infrastructure Initiative

Eni’s Next Move, What to Watch in the Khazna 500 MW Project

The most critical near-term signal for Eni’s AI strategy is the progression of its Lombardy data center project from a preliminary agreement to a fully financed and operational joint venture. The successful execution of this single project will validate the company’s entire pivot into a new high-growth industry.

• If the Khazna joint venture is finalized and a final investment decision is made, watch for the official construction start date. This will be the first physical proof that the strategy is moving from paper to reality. Subsequent announcements of anchor tenants will be the key commercial validation.
• Watch for outcomes from the ‘Call 4 Innovators’ program and the broader opening of HPC 6. The success and commercial viability of projects developed by external partners will serve as an early indicator of Eni’s ability to operate as a technology service provider.
• These could be happening: Eni is likely working to secure long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for the data center, potentially sourcing a significant portion of the electricity from its own Plenitude renewable energy portfolio. This would create a financially integrated and highly profitable closed-loop system.

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of Eni’s entry into the AI data center market. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Other energy companies building data centers
• Eni Khazna data center construction timeline
• AI companies securing data center capacity in Europe
• Renewable power contracts for data centers in Italy

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