Data Centers in Vale Do Aço

Vale do Aço – Powering Brazil's Industrial Heartland

Executive Summary

Vale do Aço serves as a strategic digital infrastructure location for Brazil's core industrial and manufacturing sectors. For businesses operating within the state of Minas Gerais, colocation here provides low-latency compute resources essential for process control, logistics, and regional operations. This market is ideal for enterprises that require resilient infrastructure close to production facilities, ensuring high availability for mission-critical applications.

Vale do Aço: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: As of September 2025, the region has a developing carrier ecosystem. Businesses can access services from several national and regional providers, with at least one carrier-neutral facility available for interconnection.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: There are no direct cloud on-ramps within Vale do Aço as of September 2025. Secure, low-latency connections to AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and others are achieved through private network links to the primary interconnection hub of São Paulo.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public peering is not a major feature of this market. Most network traffic is exchanged through private peering arrangements or routed via the massive IX.br (Brazil Internet Exchange) in São Paulo.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server options are available, typically through providers with a strong focus on Latin American markets. Companies like Latitude.sh offer dedicated server solutions that can be deployed to serve the region.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial power costs in the region range from approximately $0.12 to $0.15/kWh, as of September 2025. This competitive pricing is a direct result of Brazil's grid, which is dominated by low-cost hydroelectric sources, providing a degree of cost stability for high-consumption deployments.

Power Grid Reliability: The power grid supporting Vale do Aço was built to serve heavy industry, including some of the country's largest steel mills. Data centers here benefit from this well-engineered infrastructure, which typically includes access to redundant power feeds and substation diversity.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers in Vale do Aço are positioned to serve the key industrial cities of Ipatinga, Coronel Fabriciano, and Timóteo. This proximity is critical for manufacturing, steel production, and logistics companies that depend on real-time data processing and control systems.

Regional Market Reach: The market provides an effective digital anchor for the state of Minas Gerais, one of Brazil's most significant economic regions. It offers a viable alternative for workloads that require lower latency than can be achieved from the primary São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro data center markets.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Brazil offers significant tax incentives for data center investment. Federal programs can exempt imported IT and network equipment from steep tariffs, directly lowering the cost of capital expenditures. These advantages make building and expanding digital infrastructure more financially viable.

Natural Disaster Risk

Vale do Aço has a high overall risk score of 5.2 out of 10, as of September 2025. This rating is driven by specific, predictable environmental factors rather than broad geological instability. Modern data center construction and operational planning effectively mitigate these threats.

Key natural hazards include:

• River Flood: The most significant risk in the region, with a score of 7.7.
• Epidemic: Rated at 6.4, reflecting a national and regional health infrastructure consideration.
• Drought: A moderate risk at 4.5.

Risks from earthquakes and tropical cyclones are negligible, providing a stable environment for critical infrastructure investments.