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Data centers: Tech boom with downsides

DW English · May 10, 2026, 7:00 AM · Also reported by 3 other sources

Key takeaways

  • Data centers are energy-intensive engines of growth, the backbone and hub of digitalization.
  • Locally it is best known for its open-air forest swimming pool and an architecturally unusual observation tower from which, on a clear day, you can see Frankfurt, some 12 kilometers away.
  • Its location is probably one of the main reasons why the US tech giant Google chose to invest several billion dollars in a new, high-performance data center.

Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.

Data centers are energy-intensive engines of growth, the backbone and hub of digitalization. Thousands of them are being built all around the world. The Iran war has shown how vulnerable societies are as a result.

https://p.dw.com/p/5DWq FAn Amazon Web Services data center in the US: Massive server capacity is needed to fuel increasing internet demand Image: Noah Berger/REUTERSAdvertisement Dietzenbach is a small German town with a population of around 35,000. Locally it is best known for its open-air forest swimming pool and an architecturally unusual observation tower from which, on a clear day, you can see Frankfurt, some 12 kilometers away.

Its location is probably one of the main reasons why the US tech giant Google chose to invest several billion dollars in a new, high-performance data center. The greater Frankfurt area is one of the most important data center regions in Europe.

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