Former Samsung Site in Germany Transformed into Eco-Friendly Data Center... "Ideal with Infrastructure and Communications in Place" [Coexistence Strategies in the AIDC Era] ⑬

Ⅴ. Balanced Development: Data Centers Dispersing Across Regional Cities
Fierce Competition Among German Municipalities to Attract Data Centers

Dietzenbach Draws Younger Populations With Eco-Friendly Policies
Schwalbach Builds Data Centers on Former Samsung Electronics Site
"Recognition Growing That Data Centers and AI Technologies Are Essential Public Assets"

Editor's NoteIn the era of artificial intelligence (AI), the government has announced plans to build data centers with a total capacity of 18.4 GW by 2035 as part of three major mega-projects, aiming to make them key future growth engines for the nation. Once limited to supporting IT services, web applications (apps), and data storage or sharing, data centers are evolving into industrial platforms that provide and supply AI computing resources. However, although there is broad consensus that these are core infrastructure essential to national industrial competitiveness, there remain numerous challenges before AI data centers (AIDC) can be significantly expanded. The Asia Business Daily has conducted on-site coverage in countries such as Finland, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands—where issues like power supply, permits, water resources, and community friction have been addressed with sophistication—and seeks solutions for Korea to help AI data centers become assets that coexist harmoniously with local residents.

"With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, demand for data centers is rising sharply, leading to fierce competition among midsize cities to attract them."

Dietzenbach, a city near Frankfurt in the German state of Hesse, is rapidly emerging as a beneficiary of the expanding Rhein-Main digital hub—where new data centers are being established. Google has announced a plan to invest a total of 5.5 billion euros (over 8 trillion won) to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in Germany, and has chosen to build a new data center in Dietzenbach while expanding the Hanau site, positioning Dietzenbach as a critical city supporting Google Cloud and generative AI service infrastructure across Europe.

Mayor Dieter Lang met with The Asia Business Daily at the Dietenbach City Hall. Photo by So Jeong Seo.

On the 22nd of last month (local time), in an interview with The Asia Business Daily at Dietzenbach City Hall, Mayor Dieter Lang said, "We were able to attract Google's data center because we have three key factors: fast permitting, ample available land, and sufficient power supply." He noted that Dietzenbach is quickly rising as a new data center hub. Germany needs alternatives to handle the surge in data center demand in Frankfurt, and Dietzenbach, located only 20 to 25 minutes by car from downtown Frankfurt, is functioning as a satellite city enabling ultra-low-latency data transmission.

Mayor Lang added, "Children under the age of six account for 7.9% of Dietzenbach's total population, and people aged 1 to 18 make up more than 20%. Additionally, only about 7% of residents receive minimum subsistence benefits, which is lower than the average in Hesse." A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Lang has served as mayor of Dietzenbach since November 2021 and emphasizes that data centers and eco-friendly urban policy generate strong synergies.

Dietzenbach Installs High-Speed Fiber Network for Data Center Infrastructure

Mayor Lang also explained, "Dietzenbach's industrial park is the first in Hesse to be equipped throughout with ultra-high-speed fiber optic networks, making the area highly competitive infrastructure-wise. Recently, the number of high-quality jobs has increased, thanks both to the success of companies moving into Dietzenbach and the implementation of our eco-friendly city policies." Specialized service jobs are increasing as companies related to IT hardware for data centers, facility maintenance, and renewable energy settle in the area. In addition to Google, major hyperscalers and colocation data center operators such as EdgeConneX and Maincubes are also establishing a presence.

He continued, "We collaborate with energy companies to supply waste heat generated during data center operation to the local district heating network, recycling it to provide heating to around 2,000 to 2,500 nearby households. We also recycle groundwater in response to water shortages. When Google built its data center, it placed a strong emphasis on sharing as much information as possible with local residents in a transparent manner. Because of these efforts, there was almost no opposition from residents, and the data center is now recognized as a valuable asset that coexists with the local community."

The former building of Samsung Electronics Europe Headquarters is being transformed into an eco-friendly data center. Photo by Sojeong Seo.

Located in the Main-Taunus district northwest of Frankfurt, Schwalbach am Taunus is also emerging as an alternative location for data centers. While Dietzenbach is focused on hyperscalers like Google, Schwalbach concentrates on data centers dedicated to finance and high-density AI and enterprise applications.

During a visit on the 20th of last month (local time), many construction projects for new data centers were underway across Schwalbach. The former Samsung Electronics Europe headquarters—previously located in Schwalbach before moving to Eschborn—is being redeveloped into an eco-friendly data center. Maincubes is building a data center in Schwalbach to provide high-performance computing (HPC) data services to the German government and public sector. Additionally, another new data center adjacent to the former Samsung Electronics site is under construction and is expected to utilize a water cooling system for handling high-performance server heat dissipation.

Mayor Thomas Milkovich met with The Asia Business Daily at Schwalbach City Hall. Photo by Sojeong Seo.

In an interview at Schwalbach City Hall, Mayor Thomas Milkovich said, "We already have a business park that used to house major IT companies like Samsung, so power supply and ultra-high-speed communications infrastructure are already in place. We are actively attracting high-efficiency data centers to diversify our corporate tax revenue streams." According to Milkovich, who assumed office in March this year with a term extending to 2032 as a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), cities across Germany are increasingly viewing data centers as a new economic driver and are competing to attract them.

Mayor Milkovich commented, "Although data centers were previously criticized for their unattractive appearance, public opinion has shifted in recent years. By supplying waste heat generated by the data center to residential developments across the street and operating entirely on renewable energy, citizens are increasingly recognizing data centers and AI technology as essential public assets." There are also growing expectations that, as Germany's automotive industry faces challenges, AI will become a new source of job creation.

The city of Schwalbach plans to utilize waste heat from the server cooling process at the Maincubes data center to supply heating energy to the large-scale residential complex Limesstadt starting in 2028. Alongside a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Göttingen Municipal Works to operate entirely on renewable energy, Schwalbach will further realize its vision of an eco-friendly data center by integrating rooftop solar power and a rainwater recycling system.

This feature is supported by the Press Promotion Fund, created through government advertising commissions.

Schwalbach Am Taunus, located in the Main-Taunus district northwest of Frankfurt, is emerging as an alternative site for data centers. Construction of a new data center is underway in front of the former Samsung Electronics Europe headquarters building. Photo by Sojeong Seo.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.