Plans Leaked

Google Is Building a European Hub in Austria

Google has been building its data center in Kronstorf (Upper Austria) since April, and the project is now set to expand to two and a half times its current size.(Bild: FOTOKERSCHI / WERNER KERSCHBAUMMAYR)

Dublin, London, Zurich—and soon Kronstorf, too! U.S. tech giant Google is planning a billion-euro project in Upper Austria. A data center already under construction is set to become two and a half times larger than originally planned—and to become one of Google’s most important locations in Europe.

The technology company apparently sees great potential in the industrial state of Upper Austria. The original idea to build a data center in Kronstorf, on the border with Lower Austria, has been significantly expanded in recent months. The groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s first data center in Austria took place in April—and the next phase of expansion is set to follow soon.

As confirmed to the “Krone” by the Economic Affairs Department of the State of Upper Austria, the U.S. company submitted the project documents for approval to the municipality of Kronstorf and the Linz-Land District Administration in recent days. Google plans to build a campus covering a total of 50 hectares in the market town of Kronstorf, which has a population of 3,500. 

Google is the undisputed global market leader in web search engines.(Bild: AFP/NICOLAS TUCAT)

The authorities must give the green light before construction can begin. According to current estimates, the building permit process could be completed by mid-2027 at the latest. Google plans to begin construction immediately afterward and build the campus in several phases.

Similar centers in London and Zurich
The campus is to consist of several buildings and extensive technical infrastructure. Such locations form the backbone of the company’s digital infrastructure. Cloud services, AI applications, and other Google services are operated from here. Among the best-known European locations are Dublin, London, and Zurich.

The demand for such centers is growing rapidly—including in Austria. The boom in artificial intelligence, in particular, is causing the demand for computing power to skyrocket. More and more applications require enormous amounts of data and high-performance servers. Experts predict that the expansion of the necessary infrastructure will continue to accelerate significantly in the coming years.

Construction work in Kronstorf has been underway since April, and construction of the even larger phase is expected to begin next year.(Bild: FOTOKERSCHI / MARKUS HAUSER)

Markus Achleitner, the state’s Minister of Economic Affairs, is pleased that Google has chosen Upper Austria for one of its most important locations in Europe, and he confirms the information reported by the “Krone”: “This is a great sign for Upper Austria as a business location. Google is demonstrating that it believes in the future of our state.” Achleitner expects that the new Google campus could also serve as a magnet for further business settlements.

This is a great signal for Upper Austria as a business location. Google is showing that it believes in the future of our state.

Wirtschaftslandesrat Markus Achleitner, ÖVP

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the data center in April, Google did not disclose the investment amount. However, following the now massively expanded plans, industry insiders estimate the project will cost billions. Google itself is expected to employ hundreds of people directly at the site in the future, while indirectly—from construction and maintenance to security and numerous service providers—it could even create thousands of jobs. The economic impact for the region and all of Upper Austria would be enormous.

The technical specifications also reveal the scale the campus is actually expected to reach. Once fully operational, the campus is projected to require a connected load of up to 500 megawatts—more than major industrial plants collectively need. To keep the servers at operating temperature around the clock, cooling water will be drawn from the Enns River and circulated through the campus’s cooling systems.

The water, which is heated to around 30 degrees in the process, will not simply be returned unused: The waste heat will first be utilized within the campus, for example to heat buildings and power other technical systems. Only then will the water be discharged back into the Enns River, in accordance with regulatory requirements.