Ulrik Fleischer-Michaelsen, Partner, 360 Law Firm
As a founding member and board member of the Danish Data Center Industry (DDI), and having assisted in establishing the Net-Zero Innovation Hub for Data Centers, Ulrik Fleischer-Michaelsen has close insight into the sector’s key stakeholders and developments.
His approach goes beyond the law itself. He takes the time to understand each client’s business and industry, not only their legal needs. That philosophy also shapes 360 Law Firm’s structure and service.
The question is increasingly whether data centres should be placed lower in the queue for grid capacity—and whether Denmark should continue to attract the industry.
For Ulrik Fleischer-Michaelsen, the answer is clear: data centres should remain a high priority. He has followed the sector for more than a decade, advising international hyperscalers establishing themselves in Denmark, helping found the Danish Data Center Industry, and advising on the pan-European Net Zero Innovation Hub for Data Centers, founded in 2023 by Google, Microsoft, Schneider Electric, Danfoss, Data4 and Vertiv.
“Denmark remains relevant as a data centre nation. Data centres are the foundation for our national and European ability to compete globally in the digital era. AI development and the wider digital transition cannot happen in Denmark or the EU without data centres on our own soil.
“At a time when proximity to data is also a matter of national security, I am confident that politicians are gaining a deeper understanding of what is at stake if we do not prioritise the industry,” he says.
The Government has announced a national data centre strategy, following an emergency act expected this autumn. The act would place data centres last in the queue for grid capacity unless they support critical functions or are grid-friendly.
The Government has stressed that category four is not a judgement on the sector’s importance, but a response to the current lack of grid capacity.
That makes it essential to understand what data centres are—and what they enable.
“It is not the data centres that consume the electricity. They are buildings. It is the customers and the data processed on the servers inside them. That data increasingly holds society together,” Ulrik Fleischer-Michaelsen explains.
The distinction matters. The relevant question is not simply how much power a building uses, but the value of the activity inside it.
New companies, including AI businesses, will establish themselves close to the computing capacity they need. Denmark is at the forefront of quantum computing; maintaining that position requires sufficient data centre capacity.
He is therefore confident that the national strategy will prioritise data centre users.
“You cannot disqualify a certain type of data user. Everything is connected. The Ministry of Defence may receive priority to build a data centre, but its main contractor cannot operate without access to email and data processing on servers in other data centres. The only solution is to expand grid capacity,” he says.
Data centres are part of the energy solution
Ulrik Fleischer-Michaelsen also turns the usual argument on its head: data centres can help finance the green build-out.
The emergency act is intended as a temporary measure. The long-term answer is to expand the grid—and to do so quickly.
“A data centre draws power steadily and in large volumes. That makes it an ideal partner in the long-term power purchase agreements on which renewable projects depend. We have seen energy-island procurement fail without state subsidies. Large, committed off-takers such as data centres can help create the sustainable business case,” he says.
Stable demand can support investment not only in wind and solar, but also in the firm, dispatchable capacity needed to back them up. Biogas turbines and battery storage are part of that supply chain.
The existing grid could also be used more effectively through decentralised solutions, microgrids and power supply behind the meter. The regulatory framework must adapt so it does not block viable solutions.
We cannot move the challenge to another part of the EU
The issue is European, not only Danish. The need for digital sovereignty, national security and more energy capacity exists across the continent.
“If we move data centres out of Denmark, we simply shift the burden to our European neighbours. We all face the same challenge, and we cannot export it.
“At the same time, Denmark has climate-friendly solutions and the expertise to make the industry as green as possible. That expertise will not necessarily be part of the solution elsewhere in the EU,” he says.
For suppliers and subcontractors, the opportunity is significant. Data centres are among the world’s largest growth markets, and a strong domestic market is an important route to export for Danish cleantech and energy-efficiency suppliers.
“To people asking whether Denmark has a future as a data centre nation, my answer is yes. But it depends on understanding the dual role these centres play: they are the strategic foundation for digital sovereignty and an active part of the energy solution,” he concludes.
360 Law Firm
360 Law Firm serves the entire data centre value chain as well as many other sectors. Its key-account service concept means that clients do not need to devote internal resources to coordinating with many different specialists.
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