The local government of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has acquired the data center being used by the tax administration in Kaarst from a private investor.

As reported by German publications Heise and Bild, the 37,000 sqm (398,300 sq ft) building complex, including a data center, was purchased to reduce the risks of “espionage and hacking attacks.”

The facility is located at the Kaarst interchange, and includes offices, meeting rooms, workshops, a printing plant, and storage areas in addition to the data center. It is powered by geothermal energy and solar panels located on the roof, and waste heat from the data center is also reused.

The state acquired the data center from Landmarken AG, the developer of the project. The purchase price was not shared.

“The project is an outstanding example of good partnership between the public and private sectors,” said Landmarken CEO Jens Kreiterling.

Finance Minister Marcus Optendrenk (CDU) added that the acquisition is an “important contribution to protecting the IT infrastructure from external influences and thus to the state’s resilience in times of crisis.”

Plans for the data center first arose in 2021, with a Europe-wide tender put out for the project.

The data center was completed in 2024, with a topping-out ceremony held in June of that year. At the time, it was said that the technical commissioning would take place in 2025, and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Finance Administration (RZF) would move in in Q2 of 2026. As of February 2026, it was said that “trial operations” were underway.

The data center was bought by a state-owned construction and real estate company.

Kaarst is located near Düsseldorf.

Düsseldorf is one of Germany’s secondary data center markets. According to Data Center Map, the city hosts some 30 data centers, putting it alongside the likes of Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich. Earlier this year, an unnamed company applied for a three-story data center development.