US tech giants Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Oracle are racing to build hyperscale data centers in Australia, with AirTrunk serving as the country’s dominant operator. AirTrunk’s total operational capacity exceeds 1.2 GW across five Australian campuses, with the MEL2 campus in Melbourne delivering over 354 MW at a cost of more than A$5 billion. The SYD3 project in Sydney targets over 400 MW, with reportedly A$4.3 billion in loan talks underway. The company, valued at approximately A$24 billion following a Blackstone-led consortium acquisition in 2024, is betting on Australia’s green energy assets and geographic proximity to Asian markets. Key obstacles include Australia’s slow planning and permitting processes, lagging roughly two years behind Asian timelines, and grid constraints, as the transmission infrastructure was not designed for hyperscale data centers.
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