In Germany, the growth of data centers is not keeping pace with demand. Bitkom, a digital industry association, highlights that companies and government agencies are increasingly relying on cloud capacities from other countries. This reliance signifies a gradual loss of digital sovereignty. Currently, German data centers have an IT connection capacity of 2.7 gigawatts, expected to grow to 4.8 gigawatts by 2030. In contrast, the United States currently has 48 gigawatts and is projected to reach 95 gigawatts by 2030, offering approximately twenty times the capacity of Germany.
The demand for data centers is rising rapidly. DE-CIX, Europe’s largest internet exchange, reports a new throughput record of over 18 terabits per second. Frankfurt remains the most crucial location for data centers in Germany and is expected to continue growing significantly. Large cloud and hyperscale data centers, with more than 5 megawatts, are increasing, accounting for 48% of the total capacity in Germany, despite there being only about 100 such centers. Approximately 2000 additional data centers provide infrastructure for server racks ranging from 100 kilowatts to 5 megawatts.
Frankfurt is a hotspot for data centers, with 1.05 gigawatts of connection capacity available for servers, networking, and storage technology. This accounts for roughly 38% of Germany’s total capacity. The capacity in Frankfurt is expected to grow 2.7 times in the coming years, with around 1.8 gigawatts in planning. Berlin is also catching up in terms of data center capacity.
Within Europe, Germany has the largest data center capacities, followed by Ireland with around 2.3 gigawatts. Besides Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin are significant locations for data centers.
Energy efficiency in data centers is improving rapidly. According to the Borderstep Institute, German data centers will consume around 20 billion kilowatt-hours (20 TWh) of electricity in 2024, which is 0.69% of Germany’s total energy consumption. When considering only electricity consumption, this accounts for about 3.8% of the total 520 TWh consumed in Germany. Although the computing power and energy consumption of data centers are increasing, CO2 emissions are decreasing due to greener energy sources and enhanced efficiency.
The majority of data centers use green electricity or purchase certificates for it, with 66% being climate-neutral. By 2030, 80% of the energy needed by data centers is expected to come from renewable sources. Currently, data centers account for about 1% of Germany’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with 6.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent. By 2030, despite a significant increase in capacity, emissions should be reduced to 4.5 million tons. Bitkom points out that high electricity costs in Germany are a disadvantage compared to countries like France, although the reliability of energy supply is praised.
Many data centers are already using the waste heat from their servers, but only 7% do so extensively, using more than 50% of it. 45% plan to use waste heat in future projects, a practice encouraged by energy efficiency legislation. Bitkom urges lawmakers to improve conditions for using waste heat. Among 51 experts surveyed from data centers, 69% said the main issue is the lack of buyers for their waste heat.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications are already running in about 44% of data centers, but mostly on a small scale. Only 15% of data centers allocate a significant portion of their capacity to AI. Bitkom anticipates strong growth in AI applications. Microsoft is building large data centers in the Rhine region, and there are plans for 100-megawatt data centers in Berlin and Hanau.