INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY: DATA CENTER NETWORK
Brazil offers sustainable alternative to US fossil-fueled AI boom
As the US leans on fossil fuels to power AI growth, Elea Data Centers’ Chairman and Founder Alessandro Lombardi explains how Brazil’ s Rio AI City aims to become a global model for sustainable digital infrastructure.
The vision for Rio AI City extends far beyond that of a typical data center campus. as AI and cloud workloads drive up resource demand. Built to operate responsibly within an urban environment, the project supports the city’ s broader push for smart, sustainable development by integrating technology infrastructure with green building principles and long-term resilience in mind.
Alessandro Lombardi, Chairman and Founder, Elea Data Centers
As a cornerstone of Rio de Janeiro’ s strategy to become a global technology hub, it represents a new model for digital infrastructure: one designed to host next-generation AI workloads from the world’ s leading technology companies.
Elea Data Centers is spearheading this ambitious project, which reimagines what a data center can be. Rio AI City is a 3.2 GW development powered entirely by renewable energy, integrating digital infrastructure with sustainable urbanization, innovation across the supply chain and long-term climate resilience. The initiative combines AI readiness, environmental responsibility and economic development into one ecosystem.
While the campus is optimized for AI workloads, it also supports Brazil’ s broader push toward digital sovereignty. Today, an estimated 65 % of Brazilian cloud workloads are hosted abroad, highlighting the opportunity to bring data infrastructure back onshore. By connecting directly to the region’ s strong submarine cable hub and one of the world’ s most stable power grids, the project provides a critical high-performance foundation for both hyperscalers and local enterprises.
Brazil’ s clean energy matrix is a key enabler. Over 80 % of the country’ s electricity comes from renewable sources, primarily hydro, wind and solar, compared to roughly 25 % in the US, according to the US Energy Information Administration. This provides a solid foundation for powering AI infrastructure sustainably at scale. Elea’ s energy strategy includes long-term power purchase agreements( PPAs) with renewable energy providers, flexible load management and an evaluation of technologies such as battery energy storage systems( BESS) and hydrogen-powered generators to further enhance reliability and sustainability.
RJO1 is already operational and RJO2 – scheduled to go live in 2026 – will deliver approximately 80 MW of capacity. This is the initial phase of a much larger development. The RJO3 and RJO4 sites will follow, adding another 120 MW of capacity. The long-term vision for the campus has the potential to reach up to 3.2 GW.
The importance of this initiative was underscored by the recent memorandum of understanding signed by the federal government and the city of Rio de Janeiro. This agreement – supported by major institutions like Brazil’ s national development bank BNDES and Latin America’ s largest power utility Eletrobras – demonstrates a unified commitment to transforming Rio into a data center hub.
Elea’ s commitment to sustainability is built into every aspect of the project. Rio AI City is designed with waterless cooling systems and green skin architecture to maximize energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact, which are critical considerations
Elea’ s leadership in this project reinforces the company’ s belief that Brazil is a blueprint for what digital infrastructure can look like worldwide. With Rio AI City, Brazil is sending a clear message: it’ s ready to lead and open for business. p
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