German startup plans to build 30-megawatt AI Data Centre in order to boost sovereign control

Polarise, a German start-up, plans to build an artificial intelligence data center with a 30-megawatt capacity. This would double Germany’s domestically-run computing power.

The company said that the facility in Amberg, Bavaria, which is set to be operational in mid-2027 could expand to 120 MW.

According to the German lobby group Bitkom, AI data centres in Germany had a total capacity of 530MW by the end of 2017. Most of it was, however, operated by non German providers.

Due to global tensions, including tariffs and armed conflicts, as well as the sharply divergent rules surrounding online content, European countries want more sovereignty over data.

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It was not previously known that plans were being made for one of Germany's biggest data centres. Data centres with a capacity of 100 MW and more are typically operated by large technology companies such as?Google or Amazon's AWS.

Polarise operates 13 data centers in Germany and overseas, but has declined to provide details about the size of investment required.

Marc Gazivoda is Polarise's Marketing Director. He said that the final investment volume will depend on how many customers rent computing power or install their own servers.

Sources close to the company have said that the initial stage of the project will cost "triple-digit millions of euros", including the infrastructure, but not the chips themselves. Source: The final cost will depend on how many chips are needed and what type of chip they are.

According to estimates by Deutsche Telekom, a 12-MW data center opened last month in Munich by Polarise cost 1 billion euro ($1.16 billion) The facility doubled Germany's local-operated capacity.

Oil prices are now above $100 per barrel, and the cost of power for data centres that consume a lot of electricity is becoming more prominent.

Polarise?said that its partner WV Energie would install a solar and wind power plant as well as battery storage for temporary electricity. Reporting by Hakanersen, Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Joe Bavier.

(source: Reuters)