Data centres in Germany: AI is driving growth
- €12 billion invested in Germany’s data centres in 2025
- By 2030: Germany’s data centre capacities to increase by 70 per cent
- AI data centres to quadruple
- Energy demand to rise to 21.3 billion kWh in 2025
- Frankfurt remains the leading location, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg expected to see strong growth
Berlin, 10 November 2025 – Artificial intelligence is driving the expansion of data centres – including in Germany. At present, data centres for AI account for around 15 per cent of the total installed capacity in Germany. By 2030, these AI capacities – measured in watts – are set to quadruple, rising from the current 530 megawatts to 2,020 megawatts of connected load. The share of AI data centres in Germany’s total capacity will then stand at 40 per cent.
Overall, Germany currently has 2,000 data centres with a connected load of more than 100 kilowatts each, including 100 larger data centres with a capacity of more than 5 megawatts. The total capacity of all German data centres grew by 9 per cent in 2025 to 2,980 megawatts, with the 100 largest data centres accounting for half of this growth. At the beginning of 2026, the threshold of 3,000 megawatts is expected to be exceeded for the first time, and by 2030 the mark of 5,000 megawatts. Compared with 2024, Germany’s data centre capacities will then have almost doubled. These are the findings of the current Bitkom study “Data Centres in Germany: Current Market Developments – Update 2025”, conducted by the Borderstep Institute.
Above all, the growing demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing is driving this growth. “Artificial intelligence is becoming a decisive factor for the performance of our economy and our public administration,” says Bitkom Director General Dr Bernhard Rohleder. “Germany must ensure that we have sufficiently powerful data centres. Without data centres, there is no AI. Only in this way can we strengthen our digital sovereignty and catch up with international technology leaders. To achieve this, data centre operators need improved regulatory framework conditions, faster planning and approval procedures and, above all, a stable supply of affordable electricity.”
This year, operators are investing €12 billion in IT hardware and €3.5 billion in buildings and technical building services – a new all-time high. Of this, around €2.5 billion is being invested in equipment and systems for cooling technology, power supply and other building services.
In an international comparison, however, development in Germany is progressing rather sluggishly. Unlike in the USA or China, there are still no mega data centres in Germany that are operated exclusively for AI applications. The high-performance IT systems in German data centres are significantly smaller than those in data centres abroad. In 2024, the USA already had ten times as much data centre capacity as is planned in Germany by 2030. Each year, more than four times as much capacity is added in the USA as is installed in Germany in total. Rohleder: “When it comes to data centres, the federal and state governments must go ‘all in’ and radically reduce investment barriers. This is where it will be decided whether Germany becomes a data colony or remains a sovereign country in the digital age.”
Half of data centre capacity is attributable to cloud infrastructures
The drivers of current growth are cloud services for AI and other applications, which are set to increase by around 17 per cent this year to 1,450 MW. This means that cloud infrastructures currently account for almost half (49 per cent) of German data centre capacity – compared with 45 per cent one year ago and just 29 per cent in 2019. The market for edge data centres is also gaining momentum, but with a connected load of around 240 MW in 2025 it remains at a comparatively low level. Edge data centres are located closer to end users or the intended application, resulting in very short response times. Traditional data centres continue to operate, but are now showing a declining trend (2025: 1,290 MW).
Servers are becoming more efficient, but energy demand is rising
Electricity demand from data centres in Germany has also increased – and will continue to rise, not least in view of the growing importance of artificial intelligence. In 2025, it will amount to 21.3 billion kilowatt hours – compared with 20 billion kWh in 2024 and just 12 billion kWh in 2015. Around two thirds of electricity consumption is attributable to the IT infrastructure of data centres, i.e. servers, storage and network technology. The remaining third is accounted for by building infrastructure, cooling and ensuring an uninterrupted power supply.
The IT systems used are becoming increasingly efficient. For example, energy efficiency for standard servers increased by an average of 26 per cent per year between 2017 and 2022. Rohleder: “The energy efficiency of data centres has increased significantly in recent years, and it will continue to gain importance in view of rising electricity costs and growing requirements driven by AI. It is in the operators’ own interest to optimise electricity consumption. More efficient IT systems and building technology not only reduce costs, but also protect the environment. Energy efficiency is not just a technical goal, but a decisive competitive factor.”
Frankfurt accounts for more than a third of all capacity in Germany
The availability of computing capacity varies considerably across Germany’s 16 federal states. By far the largest data centre cluster is located in Hesse in the greater Frankfurt area, with more than 1,100 MW, accounting for over a third of all capacity in Germany. This is followed at a distance by Bavaria (420 MW) and North Rhine-Westphalia (378 MW), with Baden-Württemberg (233 MW) and Berlin (146 MW) behind them. The lowest installed computing capacity can be found in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (20 MW), Bremen (19 MW) and Saarland (17 MW).
Numerous new large data centres have been announced for the coming years. Not only are new projects totalling more than 1,800 MW planned in Frankfurt, but also 888 MW in Brandenburg and a project with an IT connected load of 480 MW in Nierstein in Rhineland-Palatinate. This project could be surpassed by a data centre with an IT connected load in the region of 1,000 MW, currently under discussion in the municipality of Dummerstorf in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Just last week, plans were also presented for a new AI data centre near Munich.
Hesse scores with connectivity, the north with green electricity
The individual federal states offer different location factors that may be attractive to data centre operators. Of particular importance are the economic environment, connectivity, the existing data centre ecosystem and the availability of grid connection capacity and “green electricity”. Depending on the type of data centre, these factors may vary in importance.
Hesse scores, among other things, with its connection to Europe’s largest internet exchange, DE-CIX, an established data centre ecosystem and a strong economic environment. Frankfurt is currently growing at a rate of around 14 per cent and its ecosystem is increasingly extending into Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria. North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg and Berlin also offer major advantages in terms of connectivity. In particular, the Berlin-Brandenburg region is positioning itself ever more clearly as a second major hub for data centres, with high international visibility and an attractive location as a “gateway to the east”. Rhineland-Palatinate and Brandenburg are also attractive due to their proximity to the data centre clusters in Frankfurt and Berlin, benefiting from their connectivity and ecosystems while offering ample space.
The northern federal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania stand out primarily due to the availability of land. International connectivity via subsea cables and proximity to hyperscalers in Scandinavia also offer advantages. “Data centres are an important location factor for regional development,” says Rohleder. “Federal states and municipalities should deliberately integrate data centres into their regional strategies and designate suitable sites. Data centres attract technology-oriented companies and strengthen regional value creation. Those who create space for data centres today are laying the foundation for tomorrow’s digital ecosystem.”
USA and China are pulling ahead
Despite strong growth, Germany’s data centre market cannot keep pace internationally. The USA and China in particular are pulling ahead. In China, IT connected load amounted to 38 gigawatts in 2024. In the USA, data centres already had a capacity of 48 gigawatts last year – 16 times as much as Germany in 2025. The ten largest US data centres alone are as powerful as all 2,000 German data centres combined.
Several mega-projects have recently been announced in the United States: Meta, for example, is planning one of the world’s largest data centres with its “Hyperion” project, designed exclusively for artificial intelligence applications and expected to cost several billion dollars. OpenAI and Elon Musk’s company xAI are also massively expanding AI data centres – their future systems are expected to run on hundreds of thousands to up to one million specialised graphics processors. Rohleder: “The USA and China are setting the bar extremely high. If Germany and Europe want to keep up, it is high time to take countermeasures. The federal government should therefore present the announced data centre strategy with concrete measures without delay.”
Competitive energy costs, less bureaucracy, better heat planning
Data centres and telecommunications networks should be relieved of electricity costs. From Bitkom’s perspective, Germany’s very high energy prices by European standards represent a substantial competitive disadvantage. This must be accompanied by measures for a demand-oriented and coordinated distribution of grid connection capacities. “A successful data centre location requires a stable, sustainable electricity supply at competitive prices,” Rohleder emphasises.
In addition, planning and approval procedures need to be simplified, digitalised and accelerated. In Germany, planning and approval procedures for new data centres take significantly longer than the EU average – and around six months longer than legally stipulated. Thirdly, Bitkom proposes a revision of the regulatory framework. In particular, impractical German special provisions under the Energy Efficiency Act must be harmonised with European framework conditions, for example with regard to requirements on power usage effectiveness and the share of reused energy. At the same time, waste heat utilisation could be significantly strengthened through tax incentives for consumers, improved municipal heat planning and the expansion of modern heat networks.
“Without strong data centres, Germany will lose touch with international competition,” Rohleder stresses. “They are the foundation of digital sovereignty. Investing in powerful, future-proof infrastructure not only improves the resilience of the economy and public administration, but also lays the foundation for innovation and competitiveness in an increasingly AI-driven world. Germany must catch up with the leading nations and position itself in a more capable, resilient and technology-oriented way – and this is only possible with a strong and high-performance IT infrastructure.”
