CyrusOne has broken ground on a data center in Frankfurt, Germany.
Known as FRA7, the data center is being constructed on a 63,000 sq m plot at the Frankfurt Westside regeneration project managed by BEOS AG and Swiss Life Asset Managers.
Plans for the data center were first shared in September 2023. The development is set to consist of two three-story buildings offering 81MW across nine data halls.
Construction of the first 9MW phase is hoped to be completed by Q2 2026.
The data center is part of a major waste heat utilization project, across the two buildings 40MW of waste heat will be delivered to the Frankfurt Westside campus heating network at full capacity.
This will be done via heat exchangers to pipe network infrastructure which will be built and enabled by BEOS. Depending on the heat requirement, the temperature can be increased via a solar powered heat pump.
CyrusOne and BEOS have contracted to secure significant power provision in a very competitive market for the entire development, with 150MVA utility power supply at 110kV. The company will also construct a new redundant high-voltage grid connection and dedicated substation.
“Germany is currently a critical growth market for CyrusOne in Europe,” said Carsten Schneider, MD Germany at CyrusOne. “We are investing significantly in the State of Hessen, and this groundbreaking further solidifies our commitment to make a positive impact and contribution to this state and to the German economy more widely.
"We look forward to continuing our valued partnership with BEOS AG as we work toward our shared objective to build the most sustainable and community-focused development.”
In total, CyrusOne expects to invest more than €1 billion ($1.09bn) in FRA7. The project will create more than 500 full-time positions during design and construction.
"CyrusOne's commitment to Frankfurt affirms the strategic importance of Hesse as a hub for digital infrastructure in Europe," said the Prime Minister of Hesse, Boris Rhein.
“As one of the leading providers of data center services, CyrusOne strengthens the attractiveness of the data center market in the greater Frankfurt metropolitan area and contributes to the economic strength of Hesse. Data centers are an essential requirement for further digitalization, the application of artificial intelligence, and to enable digital transformation in our country."
KKR-owned CyrusOne currently has six other facilities in Frankfurt in operation or development.
Frankfurt l offers 9.1 MW of capacity across 4,950 sqm (53,400 sq ft); Frankfurt II offers 17.6MW across 8,400 sqm (90,350 sq ft); both were acquired from Zenium in 2017. Frankfurt III offers 22MW across 11,500 sqm (123,800 sq ft), and Frankfurt IV offers 11 MW across 5,400 sqm (58,050 sq ft).
In November 2021, the company announced plans for Frankfurt V, a 90MW facility located in the Hanau area to the east of Frankfurt. Construction started in December 2023, with the first 9MW phase of capacity due to be delivered in Q3 2024.
In July 2023, the company announced plans for FRA6, a 27,500 sqm (296,000 sq ft) facility offering 72MW across a single four-story building. CyrusOne acquired the site, located at Wilhelm-Fay Strasse 31-37, from investment group Corum for €95 million ($102.3m) in January 2023. At the time of the sale, the existing property was leased to Deutsche Bank.
