Data centers in Hessen: 20 projects mapped
Frankfurt is one of Europe's largest data center hubs, and it has run out of grid power for new ones: operators have already secured all the capacity available, according to Max Kendl of the Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The grid company NRM, part of Mainova, still gets five to 10 serious requests a year from data center builders, each for 50 to 100 megawatts. Since 2022 the city has limited new data centers to seven zones, so new projects are moving out to smaller towns around Frankfurt.
Two of those towns have said no this year. On February 3, 2026, Groß-Gerau's council voted 18-14 against negotiating with Vantage Data Centers over a 174-megawatt, €2.5 billion campus in the Lausböhl industrial park. "We will not sell our city of Groß-Gerau to a multi-billion-dollar investor," said SPD leader Susanne Theisen-Canibol. In July, STACK Infrastructure pulled out of a €3 billion data center on the former Continental site in Babenhausen after the council majority demanded renewable power, noise limits, a water plan and a €250 million guarantee. The landowner, Aumovio, is now looking for a new investor.
Where the grid cannot deliver, some builders are making their own power. CyrusOne is covering the expansion of its FRA7 data center on the Frankfurt Westside campus from 84 to 126 megawatts with gas-fired generators run with the energy company EON. "This is not an isolated case, but one that occurs frequently in the Frankfurt area," said Marina Köhn of the Federal Environment Agency. Approval for such plants usually comes from Hesse's regional councils.
Projects not tied to an area
Sites whose records name no county. Everything else is on the pages listed above.
Hessen20
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to james@floridadatacenters.org and it gets fixed.