Google has broken ground on its data center deveopment in Kronstorf, Austria.

The facility will be the company’s first self-built and owned data center in the country.

Set to span 42,000 sqm (452,000 sq ft) on a 70-hectare site in Kronstorf in central Austria, Google received planning permission for the project earlier this year, some 18 years after purchasing the site.

Of the 42,000 sqm, 29,000 sqm (312,155 sq ft) will be used as data center space. Groundwork has been ongoing since at least August 2025. The company announced plans for an Austrian cloud region in 2022.

According to Google’s announcement that it has started building works, the data center will be equipped to support off-site heat recovery, and once an offtaker is identified, heat can be provided free of charge to eligible partners to support the decarbonization of local heat sources.

In addition, the building will have a “green roof” with solar panels, and the company is also pledging to replenish more freshwater than it consumes by 2030. As part of this, the company is setting up a fund to improve the water ecosystem of the local Enns River, together with the Upper Austrian Fisheries Association.

Thomas Stelzer, Governor of Upper Austria, said: “Google’s decision to build in Kronstorf is a powerful signal for Upper Austria as a hub for business and innovation. It demonstrates that Upper Austria is internationally sought-after, competitive, reliable, and forward-looking. This investment creates jobs, strengthens our digital infrastructure, and provides additional momentum to our AI and innovation strategy. Our goal is clear: we do not just want to use the technologies of tomorrow; we want to develop them right here and secure long-term value creation.”

Elsewhere in Europe, Google has existing cloud regions in Frankfurt (including a self-built site in Hanau) and Berlin, Germany, plus Zurich, Switzerland, and Milan, Italy.

Microsoft launched a cloud region in Austria in July 2025.