Energy firm Uniper to build new data center hub in Hesse, Germany

German energy company Uniper has unveiled plans to develop a new data center hub at its Staudinger power plant site in Großkrotzenburg, Hesse, marking another step in the company's pivot toward digital infrastructure. The complex will be constructed on land formerly occupied by a coal-fired power station that is currently being demolished, and will also include a battery energy storage system (BESS) and a new gas-fired power plant.

The announcement underscores a broader trend among European utilities repurposing legacy energy assets for high-demand digital workloads. As data center capacity continues to grow across Germany, energy firms are increasingly looking to integrate compute infrastructure with on-site power generation and storage to address grid constraints and sustainability requirements. Uniper's approach at Staudinger reflects this strategy, combining data halls with flexible gas generation and battery storage to support reliable, dispatchable power supply.

Uniper has not disclosed the expected combined compute capacity of the data centers. However, the company plans to allocate approximately 4.94 million sq ft (459,000 sqm) of land at the site for the facilities, according to Uniper power plant manager Andreas Armenat, who spoke to local outlet Hanauer Anzeiger. The data centers will be built on the former location of the coal plant's cooling towers. Grid operator Tennet is also expanding a nearby substation ahead of construction, although a final decision on the number of data centers to be built has not yet been made. Uniper confirmed that talks with investors to fund the project are ongoing.

Founded in 2016 as a spin-off from E.ON, Uniper was nationalized by the German federal government in 2022 during the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to invest €5 billion ($5.73bn) in energy infrastructure between 2025 and 2030. As part of that strategy, Uniper identified at least ten power plant sites where data centers could be developed nearby. Three of those projects are now actively being developed, and one in the UK has already been completed. The company also said it is exploring revenue generation opportunities with data center operators through power purchase agreements.

Hesse remains one of Germany's most mature data center markets, with 173 operational facilities, according to DataCenters.com. Yet the region has also seen recent setbacks. Uncertainty over political support for new projects led to the cancellation of a facility planned by Stack Infrastructure in Babenhausen, southeast of Frankfurt am Main. Separately, delays in securing grid connections have temporarily halted a large data center project by EdgeConneX near Maintal. Uniper's integrated energy-and-compute model could offer an alternative path forward in a market where grid access and permitting remain key bottlenecks.