German technology company Polarise has announced plans to build a new data center specifically designed for artificial intelligence. The facility is to be located in the municipality of Amberg in Unterallgäu, in the region around Augsburg in the state of Bavaria.
According to the plans, the data center will have an initial capacity of 30 megawatts and the project is expected to be operational by mid-2027. At a later stage, the capacity can be scaled up to 120 megawatts.
The project could play an important role in the development of European AI infrastructure. European countries are seeking greater control over data and digital infrastructure, partly due to geopolitical tensions, trade conflicts, and divergent regulations governing online content. The new data center could also significantly increase the amount of AI computing power managed by domestic parties in Germany, according to Reuters.
The new facility is being developed in the Bavarian town of Amberg and is expected to eventually become one of the larger AI data centers in Germany. To this end, Polarise wants to acquire the former Wertachtal shortwave transmitter building and the surrounding land from a consortium comprising Stadtwerke Bad Vilbel and a local civic foundation. The site will then be converted into a data center specifically designed for AI workloads.
According to Klaus Minkel, city councilor in Bad Vilbel and representative of the consortium that owns the site, the necessary decisions and permit applications will be submitted to the relevant authorities after the city council elections.
Locally, the project is also being presented as a combination of digital development and sustainability. The mayor of Amberg, Peter Kneipp, says the planned facility should demonstrate that technological progress and environmental concern need not be mutually exclusive.
Faster rollout of AI capacity with modular infrastructure
As with previous projects, Polarise wants to use so-called AI Pods in Amberg. These are modular computing units integrated into existing data center infrastructure and function as independent high-performance computing clusters. This approach allows AI infrastructure to be rolled out faster than with traditional data center construction. The company refers to the project in Munich, which, according to Polarise, was completed within 6 months from concept to commissioning, whereas the construction of a new data center usually takes 2 to 3 years.
An important part of the project is the energy supply. Polarise is collaborating with WV Energie AG from Bad Vilbel, which already operates solar parks on the site with a total capacity of approximately 70 megawatts peak. In addition, battery storage systems are planned to accommodate the data center’s energy consumption.
According to WV Energie AG, the project can demonstrate that data centers and the energy transition need not conflict. When infrastructure and sustainable energy development are well coordinated, the company believes they can reinforce each other.
In addition to the existing solar parks, the energy concept also includes plans for a new photovoltaic park with a capacity of up to 35 megawatts peak and a 21-megawatt wind farm. These installations are intended to supply the data center with renewable energy in the future. In combination with combined heat and power, the energy supply can ultimately be scaled up to approximately 120 megawatts of green energy.
Expansion of renewable energy for AI data center
According to figures from industry association Bitkom, AI data centers in Germany had a combined capacity of around 530 megawatts at the end of last year. However, a large part of this is operated by international technology companies. Hyperscalers such as Google and Amazon Web Services typically build data centers with a capacity of around 100 megawatts or more.
Polarise itself currently operates thirteen data centers in Germany and beyond. The company wants to position itself as a European provider of AI infrastructure. It wants to give organizations access to AI computing power via its own cloud platform. And it wants to do so within an infrastructure that, according to the company, remains under European control.
The company did not want to disclose the exact investment amount for the new project. However, according to a source close to the project, the investment for the first phase is in the hundreds of millions of euros. This concerns the data center’s basic infrastructure, excluding AI chips. The final costs will depend on the number and type of chips that customers use.