A large new data centre powered by renewable energy is to be built near Rostock. The Schwarz Group, which owns Lidl and Kaufland, plans to invest up to €5.6 billion in the project by 2033, the company announced on Thursday. Speaking at a press conference in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's state premier Manuela Schwesig (SPD) said her state would "benefit in many ways."
Schwesig said the state was "finally taking a big step" towards linking the issues of renewable energy and digitalisation. One reason the Schwarz Group had opted for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, she said, was "because we can offer green electricity here in large quantities." Schwesig stressed that the construction phase would generate orders for local businesses, "particularly in the construction industry and the skilled trades." Once the data centre is operational, the premier added at the press conference, it will support up to 120 jobs.
The facility is intended to help strengthen digital sovereignty. "The state government's goal is for us to become less dependent on foreign providers of data centres and of cloud and AI applications," Schwesig explained. "That is why we also see the Schwarz Group's investment decision as an opportunity for more independence and more data security."
The data centre is to be built in the commercial estate of the municipality of Dummerstorf in the district of Rostock. Under current plans, construction work is expected to begin next year. By 2033, the facility is set to have a capacity of 240 megawatts (MW). By way of comparison: according to the digital industry association Bitkom, the total installed capacity of all data centres and smaller IT installations in Germany rose by around 250 MW in 2025, reaching 2,980 MW overall.
According to the Schwarz Group, part of the new data centre's capacity is earmarked for the company's own ecosystem. "On the other hand, the data centre would strengthen the further development and scaling of sovereign IT solutions, bundled within the IT and digital division Schwarz Digits," the group said. On that basis, there are also "very concrete prospects" of expanding capacity to a connected load of one gigawatt by 2045.
The Schwarz Group added that a declaration of intent on the use of waste heat has been signed with the Rostock municipal utility (Stadtwerke Rostock) for the planned data centre. The aim is "to make the data centre's waste heat available sustainably and to the benefit of municipal heat planning."
The proposed site allows for a connection to the 380-kilovolt extra-high-voltage grid, which makes the transport of large volumes of electricity more efficient. In addition, the local climate favours "more efficient free cooling using ambient air."
Gerd Chrzanowski of the Schwarz Group said: "We are taking on entrepreneurial responsibility and investing sustainably in the future of Germany as a business location." Back in November last year, the group had already announced the construction of a data centre in Lübbenau in the Spreewald region.
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