Deutsche Telekom and Schwarz plan EU-backed AI data centre in Germany

Two German heavyweights are in advanced discussions to co-build large-scale AI data centre capacity in Germany, a move that would tap European Union funding and accelerate sovereign AI infrastructure.

Project scope and structure

Deutsche Telekom and the Schwarz Group are exploring a joint bid to develop EU-supported “AI Gigafactory” facilities—data centres purpose-built for high-density AI training and inference. According to multiple reports, the talks are well progressed but not yet final. Infrastructure investor Brookfield has been flagged as a potential financial partner alongside EU capital, adding balance-sheet depth and construction expertise to the consortium.

Partners, capabilities, and strategic fit

Deutsche Telekom brings network scale, enterprise reach (via T-Systems and Open Telekom Cloud), and a public stance on European digital sovereignty. CEO Timotheus Höttges recently unveiled a separate €1 billion AI data centre project in Munich with Nvidia—positioned as independent of the EU’s gigafactory initiative—which signals the operator’s commitment to securing GPU supply and building native AI capabilities. Schwarz Group, owner of Lidl and Kaufland, operates STACKIT, a sovereign cloud and data centre platform, giving it operational know-how in German colocation and enterprise cloud services. The pairing blends carrier-grade connectivity, enterprise services, and data centre operations—key ingredients for credible, at-scale AI infrastructure on European soil.

EU push for sovereign AI compute

The initiative slots into a broader EU agenda to close the compute gap with the U.S. and China while keeping sensitive data and models under European jurisdiction.

EU funding scope and goals

The European Commission has outlined a multi-hundred-billion-euro investment program for technology competitiveness and resilience, with a dedicated tranche—reported around $20 billion—earmarked for AI data centres. The objective is straightforward: catalyze capacity for training frontier models, support industrial and public-sector AI, and reduce strategic dependencies. Expect linkages with ongoing sovereignty efforts around cloud and edge, and alignment with EU procurement, security, and sustainability requirements.

Enterprise and public-sector demand drivers

Enterprise and public-sector AI pipelines are shifting from pilots to production. Telcos are applying AI to RAN optimization, core automation, and customer operations. Manufacturers are pushing generative design and quality control. Banks and governments are pursuing regulated-model hosting with strict data residency. All require high-performance clusters, low-latency interconnects, and clear compliance guardrails—needs that hyperscalers serve today, but which EU policymakers want to complement with European-operated options.

Inside an AI data centre gigafactory

These facilities are engineered for accelerated compute at scale, dense networking, and the software tooling to productize AI safely and efficiently.

Compute, networking, and MLOps stack

At the core are GPU-accelerated clusters—likely anchored by Nvidia systems given Deutsche Telekom’s partnership—with high-bandwidth fabrics such as InfiniBand or Ethernet with RDMA, plus NVLink inside nodes. Liquid cooling, high-throughput storage, and disaggregated architectures will be table stakes. Orchestration will mix Kubernetes for microservices with HPC schedulers like Slurm for training jobs. Expect built-in MLOps, model registries, and data governance to support regulated deployments and sovereign model hosting.

Power, sustainability, siting, and compliance

AI-capable campuses typically draw 100–300 MW+ over time. Securing grid interconnects, renewable power purchase agreements, heat reuse, and water-efficient cooling will be decisive in Germany’s permitting environment. Proximity to enterprise demand centers and dark-fiber routes matters, as does compliance with German and EU data centre standards and energy-efficiency targets. Brookfield’s potential involvement could streamline power and construction execution, given its track record in energy and digital infrastructure.

What it means for telcos, clouds, and enterprises

If realized, the project would reshape AI infrastructure options in Germany and create new routes to market for telcos, integrators, and software partners.

Opportunities for telecom operators

Deutsche Telekom could fuse AI compute with connectivity and edge to offer managed AI platforms, private 5G with on-prem inference, and network AI services for peers and MVNOs. Other carriers may partner as tenants or resellers, integrating backbone capacity, peering, and security. Interoperability with emerging 5G/6G network APIs and telco-grade observability will be differentiators.

Benefits for enterprises and the public sector

German- and EU-operated AI infrastructure can address data residency, GDPR, sectoral rules, and NIS2 requirements while providing an alternative to U.S. hyperscalers. Buyers should expect choices across colocation, sovereign cloud services, model hosting, and managed AI stacks. Integration with existing SAP estates, OT networks, and security tooling will drive total cost and time-to-value more than raw FLOPS alone.

Risks, open questions, and key signals

Execution risk is real in a supply-constrained, regulation-heavy category where speed and scale determine competitiveness.

Execution, supply, and regulatory risks

GPU and accelerator lead times remain tight, even with vendor partnerships. Power costs and grid availability could pressure economics. Permitting and local community acceptance add timeline risk. Competition from hyperscalers and other EU consortia will intensify. Multi-tenant isolation, AI safety, and model IP controls are must-haves for regulated industries, raising implementation complexity.

Signals to watch and next steps

Watch for a formal consortium announcement, site selection, EU award decisions, and any long-term supply agreements for accelerators and power. Monitor how the Munich Nvidia-linked build interlocks with the EU project from an interconnect and service-catalog standpoint. Enterprises should inventory AI workloads by sensitivity and latency, map them to sovereign versus public cloud venues, and engage early on capacity reservations. Telcos and integrators should line up ecosystem partners—GPU vendors, MLOps platforms, security providers—and prepare reference architectures for regulated AI, edge inference, and data pipeline governance.