HOCHTIEF and Palladio Partners begin construction of a YEXIO data centre in Bad Lippspringe

This is a milestone for the digital future: a ceremony on Tuesday marked the start of construction for a YEXIO data centre in Bad Lippspringe. HOCHTIEF Data Center Partner GmbH is delivering the project on behalf of project company YEXIO Bad Lippspringe GmbH & Co. KG. As shareholders, Palladio Partners and HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions are investing jointly in this project of the future. The data centre is intended not only to create digital infrastructure for the town; the plans also include waste heat recovery and its integration into municipal energy planning. Completion is scheduled for summer 2026.

In an increasingly connected world, data centres are essential for processing large volumes of data efficiently. They enable cloud services to operate smoothly, support the use of artificial intelligence and facilitate the management of municipal infrastructure. “By building this data centre in Bad Lippspringe, we are creating high-performance digital infrastructure while demonstrating how local authorities can exploit synergies between energy and data management,” explains Bernd Holtwick, Managing Director of HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions. The combination of waste heat recovery and smart city technology makes this project a model for future-ready urban development. The first YEXIO data centre is currently being built in Heiligenhaus, with Bad Lippspringe now becoming the second location. Another 13 are being planned. The data centres are designed to serve a wide range of users, including municipal organisations, businesses and private providers.

The YEXIO data centre has been optimised as a product across the value chain and makes a consistent commitment to sustainability. Direct liquid cooling enables the efficient operation of state-of-the-art IT hardware and is ideal for AI applications. Solid-timber construction saves approximately 600 tonnes of CO₂, while the green façade provides additional biodiversity benefits. The facility also delivers commercially efficient operation throughout its entire lifecycle.

The data centre will be built with two megawatts of IT capacity, which can later be increased to four megawatts by expanding the facility on the site. Its user will be Yorizon, a provider of sustainable cloud-computing and green-IT solutions. Yorizon offers tailored solutions for software and platform providers, medium-sized and large companies, and public-sector organisations.

Recovering waste heat, improving energy efficiency

The Town of Bad Lippspringe welcomes the fact that Palladio Partners and HOCHTIEF are enabling the project through their investment, Mayor Ulrich Lange emphasises: “We at the town hall were delighted when we learnt of the plans for this state-of-the-art, innovative data centre. Particularly in view of our sustainability-focused municipal heat planning, the proposed collaboration with the new project partners will create a genuine win-win situation. The waste heat generated there is an ideal source of heat for our planned district heating network. The data centre is therefore also an important building block on our journey towards an independent energy supply for our spa town.”

A feasibility study into establishing a district heating network in the immediate vicinity is currently under way. Waste heat generated by the data centre can be fed into the district heating system as a heat source, efficiently heating residential and commercial buildings.

Digital infrastructure beyond major cities

Modern digital infrastructure is no longer relevant only to major cities. Smaller local authorities such as Bad Lippspringe also benefit from high-performance data centres that can advance digitalisation and generate economic momentum. Integrated concepts play a key role in this context. Through its infrastructure projects, HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions pursues a holistic strategy combining digitalisation, energy efficiency and commercial viability. By bringing together construction, operation and financing, the company aims to create innovative solutions that extend beyond individual projects and deliver long-term benefits for local authorities.

Stephan Küßner, Managing Director at Palladio Partners, underlines the importance of the partnership with HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions: “Modern, sustainable data centres are important for the urgently needed progress of digitalisation. They are also excellent examples of sector coupling, a key aspect of the energy transition. They run on sustainable energy and, by recovering waste heat, contribute to the transition to climate-friendly heating.”

For more than ten years, Palladio Partners has invested long-term capital—primarily from German institutional investors—in infrastructure projects in Germany and worldwide. With approximately €9.9 billion in assets under management, the investment boutique is one of the market leaders in this field. Palladio Partners has invested in municipal digitalisation projects since 2019.