US-based data center and cloud company Iren has announced plans to expand its operations to Australia with the development of a significant 800MW data center campus in Bundey, South Australia. The project marks Iren’s first venture into the Australian market and is expected to be energized in 2028.
The company has signed a transmission connection agreement to support the project, which will leverage South Australia's abundant clean energy and strategic connectivity to serve both global and regional demand for AI infrastructure. Daniel Roberts, co-founder and co-CEO of Iren, emphasized the advantages of the location, stating: "South Australia offers what AI infrastructure at scale requires: abundant clean energy, the connectivity to serve the APAC region, and a State Government that understands the opportunity and is acting on it. The Bundey campus is able to serve global and regional AI demand, as well as South Australia's own growing need for AI compute."
Bundey, located approximately 160 kilometers northeast of Adelaide, provides Iren with a prime location to cater to the Asia-Pacific region as well as local demand. Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia, highlighted the project's potential economic impact, saying: "Iren’s proposed Bundey campus represents a significant investment in our state, with the potential to create hundreds of construction jobs, support long-term skilled roles, and strengthen South Australia’s position as a technology and innovation hub for the Asia-Pacific region."
Iren, formerly known as Iris Energy, has been transitioning from its origins in Bitcoin mining to focus on its AI cloud business. Although the company still engages in cryptomining, it is reducing those operations and reallocating resources to its growing AI infrastructure. Currently, Iren operates data centers across the United States and Canada and recently entered the European market by acquiring Spanish data center firm Nostrum. The acquisition added 490MW of secured, grid-connected power in Spain to Iren’s portfolio, which now boasts a pipeline of 5GW.
Microsoft remains a major customer of Iren, while Nvidia has committed to investing up to $2.1 billion in the company to deploy up to 5GW of Nvidia DSX-aligned compute. Additionally, Iren secured a $3.65 billion GPU financing facility earlier this month to support its AI cloud contract with Microsoft.
The Bundey campus underscores Iren’s focus on scaling its AI infrastructure globally. With the combination of South Australia’s clean energy resources, strategic location, and government support, the project represents a key step in the company’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific region.
