Lidl owner Schwarz Group’s companies and the state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have pledged to establish a “digital hub” in northeastern Germany.

Under a newly formed partnership, Schwarz Group has said it will invest €5.6bn ($6.52bn) in establishing a 240MW data center in the area by 2033, with the potential to expand to 1GW by 2045.

The data center project is currently planned for an industrial park in Dummersdorf, with a 380kV grid connection possible at the location. As noted by Schwarz Group, the region benefits from a large proportion of renewable energy from both onshore and offshore wind power, and from a cooler ambient climate enabling free cooling.

A letter of intent has also been signed with the Rostock municipal utilities to establish a waste-heat reuse system, similar to Schwarz Group’s project in Lübbenau, Brandenburg.

Schwarz Group intends to use the data center itself, not operate it as a colocation facility.

Gerd Chrzanowski, partner at the Schwarz Group, said: “Digital sovereignty is not achieved through appeals or speeches. It is achieved through action, reliable infrastructure, and practical applications. We are not waiting for others to take the lead. We are assuming corporate responsibility and investing sustainably in the future of Germany as a business location.”

Manuela Schwesig, Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, added: “The state government’s goal is to become less dependent on foreign providers of data centers and cloud and AI applications. We therefore see the Schwarz Group’s investment decision as an opportunity for greater independence and increased data security. Our state will benefit from this investment in many ways.”

Schwarz Group’s data center projects are handled by Schwarz Digits, the IT and digital division of the company, while StackIT is the company’s cloud division.

StackIT’s sovereign cloud platform was selected to be one of the providers for the European Commission’s €180 million ($212m) sovereign cloud services contract earlier this year. The cloud platform is based out of StackIT’s data centers located in Europe. The company has four data centers, including DC01 in Neckarsulm, Germany; DC 08 in Ellhofen, Germany; and DC 10 in Ostermiething, Austria, and is building a fifth data center in Lübbenau, Germany.