Building the Future of Cloud: NDC-GARBE Delivers Google’s Hanau Data Center

10.10.2023

Successful completion! At Google’s new data center in Hanau – designed, developed, and realized by NDC-GARBE. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on October 6, 2023

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, continues to invest heavily in strengthening its cloud infrastructure in Germany. As part of this initiative, the company has opened its first proprietary data center, a four-story facility covering 10,000 square meters, planned and delivered by NDC-GARBE.

Strategically located in Hanau, just 20 kilometers from Frankfurt’s DE-CIX Internet Exchange, the data center provides secure storage and cloud services for business customers. Reference customers include Commerzbank, automotive supplier Fehrer and Lufthansa.

Sustainability was a top priority throughout the project. One of Google’s central goals for its cloud operations is to minimize long-term environmental impact and NDC-GARBE supported this vision by constructing a building that meets the highest standards of energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.

The facility incorporates a modular design and combines adiabatic and dry cooling systems to optimize performance. The resulting seasonal PUE and WUE values are expected to set new benchmarks in the market. Water consumption has also been significantly reduced, with all necessary cooling water sourced responsibly, an important contribution amid increasing water scarcity linked to climate change.

Operations at the data center will be both efficient and carbon neutral. Google has committed to powering the facility entirely with clean energy on an annual basis. In addition, Google is working with EnBW, Evonik Industries, and Umicore to explore how the waste heat generated can be used to supply nearby buildings in Hanau’s Wolfgang Industrial Park, further enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability.

We are very proud that Google has entrusted us with the construction of its first proprietary cloud data center in Germany,” says Peter Pohlschröder, Managing Director at NDC-GARBE. “Sustainable construction has always been at the core of our work, and we are delighted to have supported Google not only in expanding its cloud strategy, but also in achieving its ambitious sustainability goals.”