2025 pushed us further than any year before. If I were to summarise it in one word, it would be ‘more’. We built more, modernised more, and generated more of our own electricity than we ever imagined possible. Expectations rose sharply: customers expected more, regulators expected more and AI accelerated at a pace that reshaped the entire market. Yet what stayed with us throughout the year was this simple realisation: our organisation has grown stronger, more resilient and more capable than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.
We operated more infrastructure projects in parallel than at any point in LCL’s history. At times it felt as if everything was moving at once. We finished the new hall in LCL Brussels-West in June, continued construction of the five-storey expansion in LCL Brussels-North, and prepared a significant refurbishment in LCL Wallonia One. In parallel, we began replacing cooling gases with a GWP (global warming potential) above 675 by more sustainable alternatives with a GWP below 10.
Our energy profile changed dramatically this year. When our three wind turbines (2.3 MW each) finally came online, the effect was immediate and, to be honest, exceeded our expectations. We had set a 40% self-generation target for 2030. Instead, in 2025 we reached 46% in summer and even observed peaks around 60%. We also expanded our solar capacity in a way that is both innovative and meaningful. This year, we brought an entirely new type of solar park into operation, installed not on our own sites, but across the rooftops of four farms in Flanders. It is a Belgian first and reflects the kind of partnerships we want to build: practical, future-oriented and mutually beneficial. The installation represents a €3 million investment and generates around 3.0 GWh of green electricity each year. The farmers use a portion of the energy locally, while the excess flows directly to us, strengthening both their operations and ours. For us, this model is more than an energy project; it is a concrete example of how sustainability can scale faster when we work with others rather than alone.
Looking to 2026 and beyond, battery storage could become a natural next step in our strategy to increase our own production of additional green energy. With prices continuing to fall and our production data becoming more robust, the idea of using batteries to stabilise peaks and strengthen our autonomy is moving from theory to a realistic future option.
2025 was also our first full year working with our strengthened Board. Their impact is clear in every major debate and decision. The Board members bring stability, challenge our assumptions and expect clarity across all departments. They scrutinise our sustainability investments, demand thoughtful risk assessment and encourage long-term thinking. That level of critical support is constructive and gives us an extra push to raise the bar.
Internally, we shifted from drafting several policies (a focus point in 2024) to embedding them in day-to-day practices. Town halls after each Board meeting to inform every colleague, the digital ideas box, and stronger HR and communication structures all helped anchor maturity into our culture. It goes without saying that this is a necessity, because growing from 40 to almost 60 colleagues changes how LCL must operate.
Security remained one of the most visible themes of the year. With DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) coming into force, the financial sector moved to a higher standard of digital resilience. That shift had a direct impact on us as a critical service provider. Our customers must demonstrate that their essential partners are able to withstand and recover from ICT disruptions, so we further reinforced our IT environments and our OT systems (the cooling, power and physical control technologies that keep our data centers running) to ensure full compliance with these requirements. We expanded our teams, brought in new expertise and tightened our internal processes to stay ahead of increasingly complex risks. For banks, insurers and other regulated clients, this level of preparedness is an integral part of our value.
At the same time, Europe’s broader move towards stricter digital requirements brings a deeper question into focus: our long-term digital sovereignty. The United States and China continue to invest in AI at a scale Europe has yet to match. Without a more coordinated strategy, we risk long-term dependence on non-European infrastructures and models. Initiatives like Eurostack show what is possible, but procurement strategies and potentially regulatory frameworks, will need to evolve if Europe wants to build a resilient, balanced digital ecosystem that reflects its own values and priorities.
AI is reshaping the future of digital infrastructure. Belgium currently uses less than 2% of its national electricity for data centers. In the nearby future demand may rise to 4 - 10%. Supporting that responsibly will require innovation in cooling, hardware and energy management. It is a challenge, but also an opportunity to lead through smarter design.
We also see AI moving closer to consumers: in homes, pockets and everyday devices. We expect local AI hubs to appear in households, processing data closer to the user and offering more personalised services while safeguarding privacy. Wearables will play a growing role as well, think of glasses and earphones capable of analysing sound, speech and movement in real time. Or translating conversations instantly. Or providing contextual information on the spot, just to give a few examples. At the same time, robotics will take a decisive step forward because AI enables machines to interpret their surroundings, images and sound intelligently – making it increasingly part of daily life. This shift will fundamentally change how data is generated, processed and stored.
Many of these developments are no longer speculative. They will emerge faster than we expect and will drive new patterns of demand. Our infrastructure must be ready to support that evolution, balancing growing computational needs with energy efficiency, resilience and responsibility.
Customer intimacy remains one of our strongest assets. The results of our latest customer satisfaction survey (by Profacts) clearly reflect that. Our Net Promoter Score (NPS) reached +55, well above the +35 benchmark, while overall satisfaction rose to 90%. Customers consistently rate the quality and reliability of our data center infrastructure highly, with 95% giving a score of 8 out of 10 or higher. And we are happy to say that sustainability is increasingly part of that positive perception, which confirms that our initiatives in this area are seen as an integral part of the value we deliver.
The new LCL Service Hub streamlined processes and enhanced overall efficiency but, because we expanded our service delivery, it actually created more space for personal contact, not less. Customers feel that difference. Their appreciation reinforced the value of our approach, because growth brings higher expectations. When we raise the bar in one facility, customers expect the same across all locations. We see that not as pressure but as affirmation. It mirrors the ambition we set for ourselves.
While European policymakers softened sustainability measures this year, we stayed firmly on track at LCL. Our industry runs entirely on electricity, which gives us both the opportunity and responsibility to decarbonise faster than most sectors. Sustainability is not something we switch on or off. It genuinely is part of who we are. Political attention may shift, but the climate challenge does not. We continue with conviction.
Looking to 2026 and beyond, we will of course continue operating our five data centers, but our expansion plans are already progressing. We are exploring opportunities for new sites. At the same time, we will continue to deepen our renewable energy strategy. The performance of our wind and solar projects gives us the confidence to look further with additional solar parks and battery storage as a next logical step. Batteries could help us balance production peaks, increase self-consumption and strengthen our energy autonomy as we grow.
These steps form part of a broader, long-term development path that supports our growth and prepares us for future demand. 2025 gave us momentum and perspective. It clarified who we are becoming and what responsible growth requires from us. We believe that responsible expansion means not just building more, but building smarter: creating new capacity while reducing pressure on the grid through increased self-production of energy.
The year ahead will call for the same qualities that defined this one: resilience, clarity and ambition. We have raised the bar. Now we are eager and ready to move forward.
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