Europe’s cold-chain landscape is heating up in every sense. A surge of biologics, cell therapies, and e-grocery volumes is pushing temperature-controlled storage capacity to its limits. Analysts value the European cold chain market at USD 78.7 billion for 2024 and expect a 19 % compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2033, outpacing broader logistics growth and underlining the need for new, energy-efficient capacity.
Pharmaceutical logistics is expanding just as quickly. Sector forecasts see the global pharma cold chain surpassing USD 65 billion during 2025, driven by stricter handling standards for advanced therapies that must move between –70 °C and controlled-room-temperature windows without incident.
Surging Demand Across Pharma and Perishables
The post-pandemic rebound in elective healthcare, combined with a steady rise in biologics approvals, means more medicines require the 2 °C–8 °C band or below. On the food side, European consumers are buying record quantities of chilled ready meals and imported tropical fruit, with much of that demand fulfilled through online grocery platforms. Vacancy for modern cold storage in core hubs remains low and, according to brokerage briefings, is still several percentage points tighter than general industrial space despite a modest rise in 2024. Operators therefore face both a capacity crunch and mounting service-level expectations from shippers who want granular temperature visibility and 24/7 release options.
Flagship Facilities Coming Online in 2025
Developers and third-party logistics providers in Europe are responding with a wave of high-spec projects:
DHL Florstadt 4 (Germany) – Opened in May, the climate-neutral unit adds 30,000 m² and lifts campus capacity past 140,000 pallet positions. It offers modular zones down to –70 °C, integrated clean-rooms and a DGNB Gold sustainability rating, positioning Frankfurt’s hinterland as a new continental pharma hub.
Lineage Vejle Expansion (Denmark) – The Nordic specialist added 6,000 m², taking the site to 93,500 pallet places with automated handling and energy-optimised refrigeration, strengthening north-south food corridors between Aarhus and Hamburg.
Maersk Rotterdam Cold Store (Netherlands) – February saw the first cargo arrive at a 35,000 m² BREEAM-Excellent warehouse offering 34,000 pallet slots, bonded status, and an in-house veterinary checkpoint to speed fruit, meat, and pharma flows.
Network M&A – UPS closed its January purchase of Frigo-Trans and BPL, adding pan-European warehousing that spans cryogenic –196 °C through ambient, and extending UPS Healthcare’s footprint to 17 million ft² of GDP-compliant space worldwide.
Collectively, these projects inject more than 100,000 new pallet positions in 2025 alone and illustrate how automation, multi-temperature zoning, and proximity to seaport or airport gateways are becoming standard design criteria.
Energy-Efficiency Tech Moves Centre Stage
Cold warehouses consume roughly 25 kWh per square foot each year—four to five times the draw of a standard shed—making energy the single largest operating cost line. In response, operators are accelerating green retrofits and specifying low-carbon plants on new builds:
DHL’s Florstadt site runs on rooftop PV, solar-thermal hot-water panels, and air-source heat pumps tied into a smart building-management system.
Star Refrigeration’s recent CO₂ installation in Glasgow demonstrates that natural-refrigerant systems can slash energy use by 49.5 % versus UK best-practice benchmarks, while also future-proofing against F-gas phase-downs.
Such upgrades not only cut emissions but also help tenants meet scope-3 carbon-reporting duties now embedded in many procurement scorecards.
Regulatory Drivers: GDP, F-Gas, and the Energy Efficiency Directive
Compliance, not just commerce, is steering this investment cycle. EU Good Distribution Practice (GDP) guidelines, which guarantee product integrity “at all times,” lost their pandemic certificate extensions at the end of 2024, meaning inspectors are again auditing sites on-premise. Facilities, therefore, need validated temperature mapping, traceability systems, and qualified staff before they can serve licensed medicines.
Environmental policy is equally pivotal. The revised F-Gas Regulation cuts refrigerant quotas sharply from 2025 and introduces an export ban for RACHP equipment using gases with global-warming potential (GWP) ≥ 1000, accelerating the switch to CO₂, ammonia, and hydrocarbons. Parallel to this, the updated Energy Efficiency Directive—whose transposition deadline falls on 11 October 2025 – enshrines an “energy efficiency first” principle and obliges Member States to prioritise high-efficiency solutions when permitting industrial builds. Developers, therefore, face a dual mandate: install low-GWP refrigerants and prove audited energy-management plans, or risk stranded assets.
Market Outlook and Capacity Tightness
Even with the 2025 construction burst, analysts warn of continued imbalance. European cold-chain revenues may be growing at double-digit rates, but new supply is still modest relative to demand and is concentrated in tier-one regions. Food retailers and pharma producers competing for the same temperature bands are already locking in multi-year deals to secure space ahead of harvest peaks, new drug launches, and the next e-grocery promotion cycle. That pre-commitment trend, alongside stricter compliance deadlines, should keep rental growth resilient, even as conventional dry warehouses see a slight tenant-favourable shift. Operators able to blend GDP-certified handling, low-carbon engineering, and pan-European reach, therefore, stand to capture a disproportionate share in the years ahead.