Tesh Durvasula, CEO, AtlasEdge
In March, Germany’s parliament approved one of the most significant infrastructure investment packages in its modern history — a €500 billion commitment aimed at strengthening the country’s military, economy and digital backbone.
Unsurprisingly, a plan of this scale has drawn scrutiny. It’s been hailed as bold, long-term thinking by some, and questioned by others for its potential impact on debt and public finances. That level of scrutiny is healthy. Investments of this size demand thoughtful stewardship and sound decision-making.
But viewed through the lens of long-term economic transformation — and the infrastructure needed to enable it — the opportunity is compelling.
Not just roads and rails
While the headlines might focus on transport, housing and military modernisation, the quiet engine of this plan is digital infrastructure — the fibre, towers, and data centres that underpin everything from cloud computing to AI to industrial automation.
Germany already has the foundations: a highly skilled workforce, a strong industrial base, and some of the most robust data sovereignty rules in the world. What it hasn’t always had is long-term certainty and large-scale public investment.
That’s what makes this move so significant. It’s a clear signal that digital infrastructure isn’t just a tech sector concern — it’s national strategy.
Laying the groundwork for future growth
The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has forecast that Germany’s data centre capacity will grow to 48GW by the end of the decade — up nearly 80% from today’s levels.1 That’s not speculative hype. It’s a reflection of real demand: from AI models that need vast compute, to enterprises replatforming legacy IT, to consumers whose expectations for digital services keep rising.
We’re already seeing that demand on the ground. At AtlasEdge, Germany is one of our most important markets — with eight operational data centres in cities like Hamburg, Stuttgart, Berlin and Leverkusen. These are not just tech hubs. They’re also pharma hubs, automotive centres, financial districts — and every one of them needs modern digital infrastructure to grow.
This investment also reinforces why we’ve placed such emphasis on the DACH region as a whole. With its economic weight, digital maturity, and growing demand for capacity at scale and at the edge, it’s a key pillar of our long-term strategy.
Why this matters to investors
What’s most encouraging is the tone of the commitment. This isn’t short-term stimulus or political posturing. The government has made it clear: this is about long-term transformation, delivered with fiscal discipline and private sector partnership.
That kind of clarity matters. As an investor and operator, you need confidence that a market is going to support your long-term capital cycle. Infrastructure doesn’t work in political soundbites — it works in decades. And Germany is showing that it understands this.
A blueprint for Europe
What Germany is doing should be a blueprint for others. Across Europe, there’s growing recognition that digital infrastructure isn’t just about connectivity — it’s about competitiveness.
Governments have a critical role to play as enablers of this growth: reducing barriers, encouraging investment, and recognising the strategic value of digital infrastructure. In the UK, we’ve seen this recently with the government’s growth agenda and decision to designate data centres as critical national infrastructure — a move that sends a clear signal to industry and investors alike.
The companies building AI models, launching new SaaS platforms, automating manufacturing lines — they all rely on the same invisible layer of infrastructure to succeed. And it’s our job to make sure that infrastructure is fast, local, secure, and sustainable.
Long-term thinking, long-term value
If the last wave of growth was driven by cloud adoption, the next will be fuelled by AI, automation, and the exponential rise in data and bandwidth demand. And it will be the countries that invest in infrastructure today that reap the rewards tomorrow.
At AtlasEdge, we’re continuing to invest where we see long-term demand and real economic impact. That’s why Germany — and the wider DACH region — is central to our European footprint. And why this €500 billion plan gives us even more confidence in the road ahead.
This article was first published in Data Centre Review. Read the original article here.
About AtlasEdge
AtlasEdge Data Centres is one of the fastest growing data center providers in Europe. Together with our clients and partners, we’re defining the European edge. Our distributed data centre portfolio allows customers to plan and shape their technology and network infrastructure to meet their growing requirements for lower latency, better performance and localized solutions. Established in 2021, AtlasEdge is a joint venture between Liberty Global and DigitalBridge.
Our continued data centre expansion and deep industry expertise across Europe ensures we serve businesses where they need us most. We serve 800+ customers across 23 data centers connected to more than 70 on-net carriers.