CyrusOne breaks ground on billion dollar data centre in Germany

CyrusOne has commenced construction on its new data centre in Germany, FRA7, situated on a 63,000 square meter plot at Frankfurt Westside, a commercial and industrial mixed-use regeneration project overseen by BEOS AG and Swiss Life Asset Managers.

This development follows CyrusOne's announcement in September 2023, where it confirmed its intent to deliver an 81MW data centre scheme prioritising sustainability, marking one of Europe's largest waste heat utilisation projects.

The project was further formalised in April 2024 through an official handover protocol with BEOS AG and Swiss Life Asset Managers. The first phase, providing 9MW of IT capacity, is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2026.

"Germany is currently a critical growth market for CyrusOne in Europe," commented Carsten Schneider, Managing Director Germany at CyrusOne.

"We are investing significantly in the State of Hessen, and this groundbreaking further solidifies our commitment to make a positive impact and contribution to this state and to the German economy more widely. We look forward to continuing our valued partnership with BEOS AG as we work toward our shared objective to build the most sustainable and community-focused development."

The FRA7 development represents a significant investment by CyrusOne, anticipated to exceed EUR €1 billion.

The project is expected to create over 500 full-time positions throughout its design and construction phases. CyrusOne also emphasises its commitment to supporting local businesses, employing local people, and providing training and apprenticeship opportunities.

The groundbreaking ceremony featured several notable attendees, including Boris Rhein, Prime Minister of the State of Hesse, and Matthias Schmidt, an Executive Board member of BEOS AG. Prime Minister Rhein said: "CyrusOne's commitment to Frankfurt affirms the strategic importance of Hesse as a hub for digital infrastructure in Europe."

" As one of the leading providers of data centre services, CyrusOne strengthens the attractiveness of the data centre market in the greater Frankfurt metropolitan area and contributes to the economic strength of Hesse," he added.

"Data centres are an essential requirement for further digitalisation, the application of artificial intelligence, and to enable digital transformation in our country."

Matthias Schmidt agrees with Rhein.

"The collaboration with CyrusOne has served as a model for us from the outset, and we look forward to taking the next steps in this partnership," he said.

"The groundbreaking ceremony is another milestone in the implementation of our shared vision, in which the consistent pursuit of our ESG goals is an important building block."

CyrusOne and BEOS AG are implementing several best practices to enhance sustainability at Frankfurt Westside, including the waste heat reuse. The data centre will provide up to 40MW of waste heat to the campus heating network when operating at full capacity. Heat from the servers will be absorbed into a water system connected via heat exchangers to the pipe network infrastructure built by BEOS. This network will then connect to the development's buildings, enabling the community, industrial tenants, and employees to benefit from a waste product, thereby reducing their carbon footprint.

In terms of power, CyrusOne and BEOS have secured 150MVA utility power supply at 110kV for the entire development and intend to invest in a new redundant high-voltage grid connection and dedicated substation. This setup aims to improve electrical distribution efficiency, allowing buildings in the development to maximise renewable energy use in line with German energy efficiency targets.

Environmental and community benefits are also prioritised, with plans for extensive green spaces, ecological landscaping, and the inclusion of more than sixty trees.

The development will feature 5,500 square meters of open green space and over 1,800 square meters of vegetated facility walls and roofs to improve air quality and aesthetic value for the local community.

With a focus on sustainability, the entire Frankfurt Westside campus has been pre-assessed for DGNB Platinum certification, while the data centre itself is designed to achieve at least BREEAM Very Good certification.