Summary
- The companies are examining former nuclear power sites for potential data centres.
- High-voltage infrastructure and available land are central to the evaluation.
- No site, investment, construction programme, or power supply has been confirmed.
PreussenElektra and Nvidia are assessing whether former German nuclear power station sites could accommodate AI computing facilities, focusing on existing land, electrical infrastructure and the engineering requirements of high-density data centres.
The companies confirmed their partnership on 28 October. PreussenElektra, an E.ON subsidiary responsible for dismantling former nuclear plants, will provide information about the properties and their infrastructure. Nvidia will assess potential computing configurations and the technical requirements those installations could impose on the sites.
No location has been selected for investment and no data centre construction programme has been agreed. The companies describe the work as an open-ended initial evaluation, with individual sites to receive more detailed scrutiny only if the preliminary assessment identifies suitable conditions.
Germany completed its nuclear power phase-out in April 2023. PreussenElektra is responsible for decommissioning eight former power station sites, whose existing industrial land and connection infrastructure may offer opportunities for other uses once the relevant areas become available.
Former generating facilities often occupy large plots and contain roads, substations, utility corridors and high-voltage infrastructure. Those characteristics are relevant to data centres, which require sustained power imports, room for computing buildings and space for cooling and electrical plant.
Grid connections are not interchangeable
A connection originally built to export electricity from a power station cannot simply be assumed suitable for importing the same amount for computing. Operating conditions, protection systems, connection agreements and network constraints differ between a generator and a large continuous consumer.
Any proposed data centre would therefore need grid studies and agreements covering the intended load. Some existing transformers or switchgear might prove useful, but other equipment could require replacement or changes in configuration before power could be delivered safely.
The distinction between installed IT load and total facility power also affects such an assessment. Cooling, electrical conversion and supporting systems add to the electricity drawn by a computing facility, so the grid connection must serve more than the processors themselves.
The companies have not disclosed a proposed megawatt capacity or an intended electricity supply source. Their agreement should not be interpreted as a commitment to restart nuclear generation or install new reactors at the sites.
Decommissioning shapes land availability
Reuse of former nuclear property has particular regulatory and scheduling considerations. Decommissioning activities can continue for years, and different portions of a site may remain unavailable while structures are dismantled or environmental responsibilities are discharged.
Construction of a computing campus would need to be coordinated with those obligations. Access arrangements, ground conditions, residual infrastructure and environmental controls could materially affect the time and cost required to prepare a site.
Existing cooling-water equipment is another possible asset, but it was designed for a different industrial process. High-density computing facilities use thermal systems with their own operating temperatures, flows and reliability requirements. A former power station’s cooling arrangement is not evidence that the site can support a data centre without extensive new plant.
Telecommunications connectivity would also need assessment. A site with excellent high-voltage access can still face additional construction costs if it lacks suitable fibre routes and sufficiently independent network connections.
German data centre developers have encountered constraints around electricity supply and access to suitable industrial land, particularly in established markets. Redevelopment of large former generating sites offers one possible route to meeting those requirements, but its feasibility cannot be established from land ownership alone.
The first assessment will determine whether specific properties justify detailed engineering, grid and commercial work. Any subsequent development would require separate decisions on investment, land release, construction and operating arrangements.
