Schwarz Group plans €5.6bn AI data centre as part of German digital sovereignty push

Schwarz Group has announced plans to invest up to €5.6 billion in a new data centre in Germany as part of a partnership with the state government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to strengthen the country’s digital infrastructure and support sovereign cloud and AI services.

The project, which is subject to regulatory approval, would see the retailer’s IT division, Schwarz Digits, build a data centre in the municipality of Dummerstorf. The companies expect the site to reach 240MW of capacity by 2033, with the potential to expand to a 1GW grid connection by 2045.

Schwarz Group, which owns several companies including grocery retailer Lidl, said it will use the facility to support its own digital ecosystem while increasing the capacity of its cloud and AI platforms, which operate under German law.

The company said it picked the proposed site because of its access to renewable electricity, including onshore and offshore wind power, and its connection to the 380kV transmission network.

Schwarz Group added it plans to power the facility entirely with renewable energy during normal operations. It has signed a letter of intent with Rostock’s public utility to use waste heat from the data centre as part of a district heating network. The company recently announced a similar waste heat project for another data centre in Lübbenau, Brandenburg.

Alongside the infrastructure investment, Schwarz Digits and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern government plan to develop digital public services that they believe could serve as a model for other German states.

The first projects, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, include a digital building permit system hosted on Schwarz Digits’ STACKIT sovereign cloud platform and the rollout of OpenDesk to provide managed digital workstations for teachers.

Schwarz Group said the public sector projects aim to modernise state administration while providing a blueprint that other regions across Germany could adopt.

“Digital sovereignty is not created by appeals or speeches. It is created by action, by reliable infrastructure, and by practical applications,” said Gerd Chrzanowski, general partner at Schwarz Group. “We are not waiting for others to lead. We are assuming entrepreneurial responsibility and investing sustainably in the future of Germany as an economic location.”