Google announced on Tuesday a €5.5 billion investment in Germany, a multi-year plan from 2026 to 2029 aimed at significantly expanding its cloud infrastructure, AI capabilities, and office presence across the country.
The core of the investment includes the construction of a new data center in Dietzenbach and the continued expansion of its existing data center campus in Hanau, both located in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region.
This commitment, made at an event with German federal ministers, solidifies Google’s strategy to strengthen its European cloud services, particularly for AI-driven applications. The expanded infrastructure will support Google Cloud’s AI platform, Vertex AI, which includes its Gemini models.
It also aims to bolster its “sovereign cloud solutions,” which are designed to give European customers greater control over their data and help them adhere to the continent’s strict data privacy and residency laws. In its press release, Google projects the investment program will contribute an average of €1.016 billion to Germany’s GDP annually and support approximately 9,000 jobs per year through 2029.
Google’s move is part of a broader push by major technology companies to build out dedicated AI infrastructure across Europe, having just opened the Hanau data center in 2023. The announcement follows a recent pledge by Microsoft to launch a $10 billion AI infrastructure project in Portugal in 2026, while Rumble struck a $767 million deal for a large German data infrastructure company.
Microsoft and Google’s investments are the largest each company has made in the respective countries.
Sustainability is a key pillar of Google’s German expansion. The company announced an expansion of its 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) partnership with Engie, which will supply Google’s operations with power from new German onshore wind and solar projects.
Google stated its German operations are projected to run on or near 85% carbon-free energy by 2026. Furthermore, Google detailed its first heat recovery project in Germany at the new Dietzenbach facility. In partnership with local utility EVO, the system will capture excess heat from the data center and repurpose it to help heat more than 2,000 local homes.
Beyond the data centers, the €5.5 billion package includes funding for significant office expansions. In Munich, Google is investing in the historic Arnulfpost building to create 30,000 square meters of office space for up to 2,000 employees. The company is also expanding its presence in Frankfurt’s Global Tower and adding three new floors to its Berlin offices overlooking the Spree River.
German officials praised the announcement. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil described the plan as “investments for future jobs in Germany” and a positive sign for private investment in the country’s economy.
Google executives framed the investment as a long-term commitment to the region. Marianne Janik, VP of Google Cloud EMEA North, said:
“This investment underscores our long-term vision for Europe… A sovereign digital future must be built in Europe, for Europe. This requires… deep and structural investment in the local economy, creating jobs and fostering a vibrant European technology ecosystem.“