Google Cloud today announced it will invest €1bn in Germany, through 2030, to i) expand its existing cloud region in the Frankfurt market (Hanau), ii) open a new cloud region in the Berlin market, and iii) grow its renewable energy supply, in-partnership with ENGIE Deutschland. Specifically, Google Cloud’s announcements in Germany are:
- Frankfurt: expansion of its cloud region in Frankfurt through a new Google-owned facility in the town of Hanau, located 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) east of Frankfurt
- Berlin: new Google Cloud region in the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region, which encompasses the city of Berlin and the surrounding Brandenburg municipalities
- Renewable Energy: Google Cloud selected ENGIE Deutschland to supply a 140-megawatt carbon-free (solar and wind) energy portfolio in Germany
Presently, the company has an existing portfolio of 27 Google Cloud regions globally which are connected together via its network.
Frankfurt – Google Cloud Region Expansion
Google Cloud is expanding its Frankfurt cloud region to support increasing demand, from German enterprises and organizations, for its services. For example, Google Cloud’s customers in Germany include BMG (music company), Delivery Hero (food delivery), and Deutsche Bank.
Location-wise, the facility in Hanau is situated 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) from the DE-CIX internet exchange point (IXP) in Frankfurt. Importantly, DE-CIX Frankfurt is the largest internet exchange point (IXP) globally, as measured by average traffic throughput. Presently, DE-CIX averages ~7 terabits per second.
Google Cloud’s four-story data center (see below) spans 108k sqft (10k sqm). Additionally, handover of the building from developer NDC-GARBE has already been completed.
Google Cloud expects this Frankfurt facility to be fully operational in 2022.
Berlin – New Google Cloud Region
Google Cloud is opening a new Berlin cloud region, which will be located in the Berlin-Brandenburg area. Once open, this Berlin cloud region will be Google Cloud’s second region in Germany. Similar to Google Cloud’s intentions with its Frankfurt expansion, the Berlin cloud region will meet enterprise customer demand for faster access to secure data center infrastructure, analytics tools, and an open platform.
Google Cloud’s Berlin-Brandenburg region will have three zones to safeguard against service disruptions. Moreover, given Berlin’s burgeoning start-up community, Google Cloud’s region will provide enterprise services and products for customers of all sizes and industries in Germany.
Renewable Energy – Google Cloud and ENGIE Deutschland
By 2030, Google Cloud intends to operate its business globally, on carbon-free energy at all times. To this end, Google Cloud signed a three-year agreement with ENGIE Deutschland to assemble and negotiate a 140-megawatt renewable electricity (i.e., solar and wind) portfolio in Germany. Specifically, this CO2-free electricity supply contract includes:
- Solar: new 39-megawatt solar photovoltaic system, which will become operational in 2023
- Wind: 22 wind farms in five federal states that will remain under operation after the end of Germany’s EEG subsidy. In turn, these wind farms will continue to produce renewable electricity, instead of the status quo to dismantle them
Additionally, Google Cloud and ENGIE Deutschland’s renewable supply agreement has the ability to grow in the future.
Overall, this solar and wind portfolio will ensure that the energy delivered to Google’s German facilities will be nearly 80% carbon-free by 2022, when measured on an hourly basis. Indeed, this represents an interim step towards Google’s goal to reach full electricity decarbonization by 2030.
