Google announced a new €5.5 billion investment in infrastructure and offices in Germany for 2026 to 2029. The investment includes building a new data centre in Dietzenbach, further investment in the existing Hanau data centre campus, and expanding office locations in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich. Google also presented its first project in Germany to recover and reuse heat, along with local training and wetland protection programs. This announcement is part of Google’s ongoing commitment to Europe. The investment is expected to add an average of €1.016 billion to Germany’s GDP and to support around 9,000 jobs annually during the period.
Cloud and AI infrastructure in Dietzenbach and Hanau
Google announced the start of construction of the new data centre in Dietzenbach. Google is also investing more in its existing data centre in Hanau, which opened in 2023. Google Cloud’s regions in Germany offer advanced AI services, including Vertex AI with Gemini models.
Clean Energy and Heat Recovery
Google also announced it will expand its 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) partnership with Engie in Germany until 2030. This major cooperation started in 2021 and is now growing to help Germany move to cleaner energy and make the electricity grid more stable.
Engie has created a flexible group of carbon-free energy sources to meet Google’s changing needs in the region. Together, Google and Engie will buy electricity from new wind and solar projects in Germany. They will also improve Google’s existing clean energy sources by using battery storage and hydro storage systems. In addition, they will use energy from Google’s long-term agreement with Ørsted for the Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm.
By using the CFE Manager and other clean energy plans, Google expects its operations in Germany to run on about 85% carbon-free energy in 2026.
As part of its AI investments, Google explained a new partnership with Energieversorgung Offenbach (EVO), the local heating company in Dietzenbach. They will collect and reuse extra heat from Google’s new data centre in Dietzenbach. Google and EVO have made it possible for this extra heat to go into EVO’s district heating system, so local people can use it. With this partnership, EVO can provide heating to more than 2,000 homes. This is Google’s first heat recovery project in Germany, and it helps the local switch to cleaner energy. It follows Google’s earlier test project in Finland.
Skilling and Community Engagement
Google is sharing new plans to work with local organisations, such as the Kathinka-Platzhoff-Stiftung, the Martin Luther Stiftung Hanau, and the Kaufmännische Schule Hanau, to help people build digital and STEM skills. In the future, Google will also support projects in the Dietzenbach community.
Investment in Arnulfpost building in Munich, Expansion of Frankfurt Office
In addition to new infrastructure, Google is making large investments in its office locations across Germany. In Munich, the company is expanding the Arnulfpost building. By renewing this historic building, Google is showing its strong commitment to Germany and to Munich as an important centre for development, research, and product innovation. The investment will create a modern development centre with 30,000 square meters of office space for up to 2,000 Google employees. The project will also create public areas that everyone in Munich can use when it is finished at the end of 2026.
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