Energy suppliers launch data center near Hanover

02.03.2026

Source: E & M powernews

Avacon and Envia Mitteldeutsche Energie have put a data center with space for up to 28,000 servers into operation in Lower Saxony.

18 months construction time, 40 million euros investment costs: The energy suppliers Avacon and Envia Mitteldeutsche Energie (EnviaM) have built a data center in Sehnde, southeast of Hanover. According to the company, the facility went into operation on February 26.

The facility measures around 2,000 square meters and can accommodate up to 28,000 servers. The new data center is "designed for the high-availability operation of business-critical IT applications", according to the company. All power and fiber optic connections are redundant. There are also redundant emergency power systems and uninterruptible power supplies.

Solid construction, multi-level access controls and permanent technical monitoring ensure the physical security of the building, according to the company. Thanks to the identical design to the existing data centers of the subsidiary "Envia TEL", the site meets the requirements of the Federal Office for Information Security for geo-redundancy, it continues.

Regional alternative to international providers

The first companies are expected to move in in March of this year. The location is aimed at companies in the Hanover region and beyond. Avacon and EnviaM are talking about a regional alternative to international data center providers.

Numerous guests from business, politics and administration were present at the opening ceremony, including Lower Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs Grant Hendrik Tonne and Sehnde's mayor Olaf Kruse (both SPD). "Efficient and secure data centers are a basic prerequisite for economic development and digital value creation today. They create reliable infrastructure and strengthen data sovereignty," emphasized the Minister of Economic Affairs at the event. The mayor praised the project as a "long-term investment that combines security, sustainability and technological expertise."

Over a third of all capacity in the greater Frankfurt area

The data center market is growing rapidly in Germany. According to a survey by the industry association Bitkom, the installed capacity of all data centers and smaller IT installations increased by 250 MW to a total of 2,980 MW in 2025 - an increase of 9% compared to the previous year.

Compared to other European regions, the association recorded strong momentum in the data center market, particularly in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region. At 1,100 MW, the greater Frankfurt area accounted for more than a third of total national capacity in 2025. Bitkom puts the annual energy requirement of all data centers at 21.3 billion kWh.

Cloud infrastructures accounted for 49% of German capacity. Cloud and AI applications in particular are expected to further accelerate market growth in the coming years. "The share of AI data centers is likely to increase from around 15 percent at present to around 40 percent by 2030," says the association.

Author: Manfred Fischer