Press release -
Topping-out ceremony at the FRA-Mainz data center in Frankfurt
Today, the topping-out ceremony for one of the most modern and sustainable data centers in Europe took place in Mainz. The project, realized by Green Mountain and KMW sets new standards with a capacity of 54 megawatts and innovative technologies. Representatives from politics, business, and project partners celebrated this important milestone together.
Sustainability and Technology in Perfect Harmony
"This data center on Ingelheimer Aue is a symbol of how we can harmonize sustainability and technology to shape a digital and green future together," says Oliver Malerius, CEO of KMW. "With green electricity, Rhine water cooling, district heating utilization, and a PUE value below 1.3, we are creating a data center here that is both sustainably and technologically pioneering." Svein Atle Hagaseth, CEO of Green Mountain, adds: "Our FRA-Mainz project sets a new standard for sustainable data centers – not only in Germany but worldwide. This project shows how we can create a greener digital future through partnerships and innovative technologies. This is a milestone we can all be proud of."
The data center is being built on a 25,000 square meter site located on Ingelheimer Aue next to the KMW power plants.It will be fully powered by renewable electricity, whileemergency power supply through gas power plants makes diesel generators redundant and saves thousands of tons of CO₂ annually. Additionally, the waste heat from the data center will be fed into the Mainz district heating network. It can provide up to 60 MW of heat for 20,000 households as well as the Mainz Cathedral and the MEWA-Arena.
Mainz as a Pioneer of Sustainable Digitization
"With this data center project, Mainz is becoming a pioneer of sustainable digitization," emphasizes Nino Haase, Mayor of the state capital Mainz. "The data center not only offers innovative solutions such as integration into our district heating network but also creates jobs and strengthens the regional infrastructure. Through the data center, Mainz becomes part of the world's leading internet node DE-CIX, thus strengthening its position as a location for digital infrastructure."
Collaboration as the Key to Success
"The collaboration between Mainz and Wiesbaden is a crucial factor for the success of this project," added Gert-Uwe Mende, Mayor of the state capital Wiesbaden. "The data center shows that economic sense and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand. Projects like this set the ball rolling to make our region internationally competitive and to create sustainable infrastructure."
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About Green Mountain:
designs, builds and operates highly secure, innovative and sustainable data centers in Norway and the UK. The data centers are powered by low-cost, 100 percent renewable power and are world-leading on energy efficiency.
The company currently operates the following data center locations: SVG-Rennesøy near Stavanger, TEL-Rjukan in Telemark and the OSL-Enebakk data center about 20 km outside of Oslo. In addition, a data center in London (LON-East) was recently established through the acquisition of an existing company. It is located in one of the most important data center hubs in the world. Furthermore, Green Mountain builds Norway’s largest data center campus at Hamar (OSL-Hamar) and have partnered with German power company KMW to establish a new data center in the Frankfurt region.(FRA-Mainz)
Existing customers include large international companies within cloud, banking/finance, HPC, automotive and more.
About the Joint Venture
The joint venture, Green Mountain KMW Data Center GmbH, was founded on March 30, 2023, by KMW and Green Mountain. Both companies hold a 50 percent stake in the data center company. Tobias Junglas and Markus Blüm, both from KMW, and Svein Atle Hagaseth from Green Mountain, together with Rafi Wunsh from Azrieli, form the management team. The Azrieli Group is the parent company of Green Mountain.
About KMW
KMW is a municipal, regionally rooted producer of electricity, steam, and district heating. Since 1931, the company has reliably supplied the Mainz-Wiesbaden metropolitan area with energy. With their high availability and excellent efficiency, the power plants on Ingelheimer Aue are among the most efficient plants worldwide. Nearly 500 employees at KMW ensure the reliable energy supply of the region. In addition to conventional energy production, KMW has secured important business areas in renewable energies, energy management, and hydrogen in recent years. The investment in a data center strategically continues the diversification of KMW's business model. Mainzer Stadtwerke AG and ESWE Versorgungs AG are shareholders of KMW, each holding a 50 percent stake.
