The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, an initiative founded under the umbrella of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, has been uniting the interests of leading companies in Germany’s digital infrastructure sector since 2018. The Alliance’s goal is to bring the crucial importance of digital infrastructures for Germany as a business location into the public and political discourse. Its core focus is on accelerating the expansion of a high-performance digital infrastructure ecosystem, implementing practical regulations and driving a sustainable digital transformation.

In 2024, the Alliance continued to provide important impetus through well-founded position papers and targeted participation in legislative procedures. It made an active contribution to the further development of the regulatory frameworks and positioned itself as a reliable point of contact for political decision-making and expert committees.

At the federal political level, the focus was particularly on the German Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) and issues relating to electricity access. The Alliance contributed a position paper on the EnEfG amendment and supported an eco statement on the further development of industry network charges in the electricity sector. Furthermore, it also participated in a statement on the consultation of a procedural proposal for the allocation of extraction capacities from grid levels above low voltage.

At the European level, the Alliance closely followed the development of the EU Commission’s Infrastructure White Paper, which formulates key approaches for the integration and further development of digital infrastructures across Europe. As a preparatory element for the expected EU Digital Networks Act (at the end of 2025), the White Paper was accompanied by a dedicated position paper from the Alliance, containing recommendations and comments. In addition, the initiative contributed to a position paper on the “Draft Commission Delegated Regulation on the first phase of the establishment of a common Union rating scheme for data centres”.

The Alliance was also represented on the European association level: Alliance Spokesperson Dr. Béla Waldhauser, as a board representative in the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact (CNDCP), actively influenced the European debate on sustainable digitalisation. The CNDCP unites over 100 data centre operators and industry associations that have committed to promoting climate-neutral digital infrastructures as part of the European Green Deal.

New study on Spillover Effects of Data Centres

The AI boom and the associated rising demands on digital infrastructures significantly shaped the data centre industry in 2024. The Alliance’s study “Spillover Effects of Data Centres: Backbone of the AI Revolution in Germany”, conducted by the German Economic Institute Consult GmbH, demonstrates the spillover effects of data centres on companies. 

Based on a company survey, the study highlights the enormous potential of digital infrastructures and AI. In particular, generative AI is a key driver of digital transformation, with data centres serving as the backbone for the effective use of AI. Cloud not only boosts innovation, but also productivity. In total, 5.9 million people depend on the cloud for their jobs – and that number is growing by 126,000 every month. Furthermore, €250 billion in gross value added is generated through cloud usage. In addition to the potential outlined, the study contains recommendations for action for policymakers and other decision-makers. These include accelerating the expansion of digital infrastructures and increasing ICT investment.

In 2024, representatives of the eco Alliance once again took part in numerous exchange and discussion formats with political stakeholders at both the German federal and state levels. These included engagements with Hesse’s Digital Minister Prof. Dr. Christina Sinemus, Nicolas Zippelius (Member of the German Bundestag, CDU), Maximilian Funke-Kaiser (Member of the German Bundestag, FDP), and Dr. Jens Zimmermann (Member of the German Bundestag, SPD). Additionally, the eco initiative hosted its own event formats and participated in events organised by external organisers.

A highlight was the DIGISUSTAIN trade fair in Frankfurt, where the future topics of digitalisation and sustainability were examined from various perspectives. eco hosted the stage “Digital and Sustainable Transformation”, which was opened by Prof. Dr. Sinemus. This was followed by presentations from eco Managing Director Alexander Rabe and Lars Riegel from Arthur D. Little on the role of digital technologies in advancing sustainability. In the subsequent panel discussions, Dr. Béla Waldhauser (Alliance Spokesperson; Telehouse), Günter Eggers (NTT) and Volker Ludwig (Digital Realty) discussed with Prof. Dr. Sinemus, Christine Regitz (German Informatics Society) and Sidonie Krug (eco) about the relevance of digital infrastructures for Germany as a strong digital location.

In May 2024, the well-established Alliance Talk titled “We Give Data a Home! The Data Centre Industry in Germany” took place. This brought together representatives from politics and the infrastructure sector to discuss the importance of necessary framework conditions for data centres in Germany.

Alongside Alliance representatives Günter Eggers (NTT) and Carsten Kestermann (AWS), further participants included Ben Brake (BMDV), Nicolas Zippelius (CDU), Dr. Jens Zimmermann (SPD) and Dr. Bernd Lohmann (Bayer AG). The entire event can be viewed in German language here.

The eco Data Centre Expert Summit is the trade conference for the data centre industry and, in 2024, the Alliance was once again represented in several formats: Andreas Herden (Green Mountain) spoke on a panel about criteria relating to environmental, social and governance issues and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Dr. Béla Waldhauser (Alliance Spokesperson; Telehouse) took part in a panel discussion on the opportunities of smart energy storage. Mareike Jacobshagen (DE-CIX) represented Alliance in a discussion on resilient infrastructures.

The Alliance was also a key participant in the German federal government’s Digital Summit 2024 in Frankfurt. Alliance was represented both at the “eco Lounge” event on the eve of the summit, with a brief presentation of the Alliance study on spillover effects of data centres in the context of the AI revolution. Speakers included Oliver Süme (eco), Ivo Ivanov (DE-CIX), Kevin Miller (AWS), Volker Ludwig (Digital Realty) and Sidonie Krug (eco). The Alliance was also featured in two panel discussions within the official federal government programme.