eco Alliance Calls for Clear Policy Guidelines and a Systematic Location Policy
- 60 per cent consider the further expansion of data centres in Germany to be important or very important for strengthening the country’s digital capabilities and digital sovereignty.
- 50 per cent support the expansion of data centres in their own region, while only 11 per cent oppose further expansion.
- The greatest concerns relate to energy and water consumption
Berlin, 18 June 2026 – The advancing digitalisation of business, public administration and society – in particular, the growing use of cloud and AI applications that accompanies it – is driving demand for computing capacity. eco – Association of the Internet Industry estimates that the IT connection capacity of data centres in Germany will rise by over 50 per cent by 2030; however, demand is at least three times as high. The expansion of data centres continues to spark debate. In recent months, new projects in municipalities such as Groß-Gerau and Maintal have encountered considerable resistance from the public and local authorities. However, this vocal opposition does not reflect the majority view of the population, as shown by a recent YouGov survey commissioned by the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, which was founded under the umbrella of eco – Association of the Internet Industry.
According to the survey, the majority of people in Germany view the expansion of data centres positively. 60 per cent consider further expansion to be important or very important for strengthening Germany’s digital capabilities and digital sovereignty. Only 7 per cent consider it to be rather unimportant or very unimportant.
Support for data centres more than four times greater than opposition
A clear picture also emerges regarding regional expansion. One in two respondents supports the further expansion of data centres in their own region. Only 11 per cent tend to oppose it or strongly oppose it. This means that support is more than four times as high as opposition.
“The survey shows that people in Germany have understood how crucial data centres are for digital performance, artificial intelligence, cloud applications, digital administration, online banking, streaming and digital sovereignty,” says Volker Ludwig, Spokesperson for the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany. “Anyone who wants to make Germany more digitally capable and more competitive needs modern data centres in the country. There is a clear majority in favour of this amongst the population.”
At the same time, however, Ludwig also argues that the public’s concerns should be taken seriously and addressed. According to the survey, 43 per cent are concerned about electricity consumption, 31 per cent about the strain on local electricity grids, 29 per cent about water consumption and 22 per cent about the land required for data centres. From the Alliance’s perspective, this is a clear mandate for policymakers, public authorities and the industry to plan the expansion efficiently, explain it transparently and integrate it as effectively as possible into energy, grid and location strategies.
Volker Ludwig: Acceptance comes through sound location policy and open dialogue on the ground
“Acceptance does not come from shirking responsibility, but from transparency and sound location policy,” says Ludwig. “Data centres must be understood as part of essential infrastructure services. This goes hand in hand with the need to embed data centres efficiently within the wider local infrastructure ecosystem, including their systematic integration into local energy and heating networks. What is needed for this is faster planning approvals, reliable grid connections, competitive electricity prices, suitable sites, realistic efficiency rules and legislative certainty. The population is ready for expansion. It is now up to policymakers to create the framework conditions.”
The Alliance points out that Germany is under pressure in the international competition for digital infrastructure. AI applications, sovereign cloud services, digital administration and data-driven business models require local data centre capacity. If that capacity is not built up in Germany and Europe, digital value creation, data processing and technological dependencies will shift to other regions of the world.
At the same time, the survey shows that people distinguish between legitimate concerns and infrastructure issues on the one hand, and fundamental opposition on the other. While energy, grid, water and location aspects are cited as relevant, fundamental support for data centres remains high. “Germany needs a new sense of objectivity in the data centre debate,” says Ludwig. “The question is not whether we need data centres. The question is how we can build them faster, more efficiently and in a better-integrated way. This survey shows that the social foundation for this is in place.”
About the survey
The data from this survey are based on online interviews with members of the YouGov panel who gave their prior consent to participate. A total of 2,039 people were surveyed for this study between 9 and 12 June 2026. The survey was quota-sampled according to age, gender, education, region, residential environment, voting behaviour and political interest, and the results were subsequently weighted accordingly. The results are representative of the resident population in Germany aged 18 and over.
About the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany
The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany is an association of leading companies in the industry. Founded in 2018 under the umbrella of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, the initiative aims to draw attention to the importance of digital infrastructures for Germany as a business location through dialogue with policymakers and the public.
