A new digital hub: ground-breaking for the YEXIO data centre in Dorfen

With the first symbolic turning of the soil, HOCHTIEF today began construction of a new YEXIO data centre in Dorfen. A decentralised hub—an edge data centre—is being built on a site of approximately 7,500 square metres in the Gewerbegebiet Südwest business park. It will provide the district of Erding directly with computing capacity. The project forms part of a wider regional growth strategy: HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions is planning a network of 25 decentralised locations, primarily in Europe. The aim is to ensure comprehensive coverage for industry and the public sector. The Dorfen facility is scheduled to begin operating in the third quarter of 2027.

At a time when control over data and operational resilience are critical to businesses and the public sector, decentralised structures are becoming increasingly important. Infrastructure projects of this kind process data where it is generated—away from the major metropolitan areas in which data centres are usually located. This reduces latency, or delays in data transmission, and eases the burden on national data networks. The Dorfen facility is being delivered by HOCHTIEF Data Center Partner GmbH on behalf of project company YEXIO Dorfen GmbH & Co. KG. Palladio Partners and HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions are the investors.

Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger said: “Today’s ground-breaking sends a powerful signal for Bavaria’s digital future. We are deliberately bringing high technology to a rural area and linking digital infrastructure with tangible benefits for local people—for example, by feeding waste heat into the district heating network. In this way, we are strengthening data sovereignty, security of supply and regional value creation in equal measure.”

Responsibility throughout the project lifecycle

HOCHTIEF supports the project throughout every phase—from initial planning to decades of operation. “Digital infrastructure must remain commercially and environmentally viable over the long term,” says Bernd Holtwick, Managing Director of HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions. “Our model combines financing, construction and operation in a reliable, single-source solution. This gives local authorities the planning certainty they need and, through consistent sector coupling, provides an effective concept that directly benefits the local energy balance.” As the main user of the Dorfen data centre, Yorizon will offer sustainable cloud-computing and green-IT services. Its target customers range from software and platform providers to medium-sized and large companies and public-sector organisations.

Technology and the environment working together

To put this environmental ambition into practice through the building itself, the YEXIO concept combines several technical solutions. The data centre will be constructed from solid timber, saving approximately 600 tonnes of CO₂ compared with conventional concrete buildings. Direct liquid cooling will also enable the efficient operation of modern servers specifically required for AI applications. Installed IT capacity will initially be two megawatts (MW) and can be doubled to four megawatts as demand grows. A green façade completes the concept and is intended to improve the local microclimate.

Supporting municipal heat planning

Waste heat generated during operation will be integrated directly into the City of Dorfen’s heat planning as thermal energy. As a future supplier to the district heating network, the data centre will therefore support the decarbonisation of the city’s energy supply. Klaus Steiner, Managing Director of the municipal utility, emphasises: “By feeding the waste heat into the network, both the environment and consumers will benefit from this contribution to the local energy transition.”

Mayor Heinz Grundner sees the ground-breaking as an important signal: “This data centre is a real asset for Dorfen. We are laying the foundations for modern jobs and local digital services. Sector coupling—the link between the worlds of data and energy—is particularly important to us. The ability to use waste heat from the servers to heat buildings makes the project a model for intelligent urban development.”

A strong financial partner for infrastructure

Palladio Partners is supporting the Dorfen project and another 24 planned data centres in Europe, 15 of which are to be built in Germany. The investment boutique has invested specifically in municipal digitalisation projects since 2019, using long-term capital from German institutional investors. With more than €10 billion in assets under management, the company is one of the leading infrastructure-investment firms.

Stephan Küßner, Managing Director at Palladio Partners, emphasises the project’s strategic significance: “High-performance, sustainably designed data centres are the backbone of digitalisation in Germany. The Dorfen project is a prime example of how modern infrastructure needs to be conceived today: decentralised, efficient and connected.”