German data center operator Maincubes has bought land in Berlin for a new campus.
The company this week announced it has acquired a 14-hectare plot of land in Nauen (Havelland) on the outskirts of Berlin.
The company aims to develop a 200MW campus known as BER02. The first phase of the development is set to begin in summer 2025; the first building will go live by the end of 2027.
“Digitalization, cloud services, and Artificial Intelligence present transformative opportunities for our economy and society in general, but to fully unlock this potential, we need secure and sustainable data centers - and this is exactly what drives us," said Oliver Menzel, CEO of Maincubes.
"Our new location in Nauen is an ideal step toward achieving this vision. Strategically situated near Berlin, which is quickly becoming Germany's second major digital infrastructure hub alongside the Rhine-Main area, and well supported by regionally generated renewable energy, it aligns perfectly with our mission to create the smartest places for our digital future."
Maincubes said it has been in talks with the Nauen campus project developer, AM:PM Grund Group, a joint planning team, relevant authorities within the city of Nauen, and the state of Brandenburg, for some 12 months. A legally binding development plan is expected to be finalized by the end of this year, with work on the new on-site substation starting immediately thereafter.
The campus plans for waste heat generated to be made available to the city of Nauen and other users through a heating network.
"We are delighted to have found in Maincubes a professional, solution-oriented partner with an understanding and appreciation of local conditions and will work with us to advance renewable energy and sustainable development for the data center industry in this region," says Patrick Lieberkühn, managing director of the AM:PM Grund Group.
Majority-owned by Digital Transformation Capital Partners since September last year, Maincubes currently operates the FRA01 and FRA02 data centers in Frankfurt and another in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The company has also announced plans for a third and fourth data center in Frankfurt and its first in Berlin.
Located in the GoWest commercial district in Berlin’s Schmargendorf district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, the upcoming 16,600 sqm (178,700 sq ft) BER01 will offer 5,100 sqm (54,900 sq ft) of white space across three floors and 12 data halls, and 8.2MW of capacity. It will feature rooftop solar panels, connect to the district heating network, and is due to go live in 2025.
