Tesh Durvasula, CEO of AtlasEdge, believes that Berlin’s half-trillion-euro pledge – anchored in data centre and fibre expansion – could supercharge Europe’s AI-powered economy for decades to come.

In March, Germany’s parliament approved one of the most significant infrastructure investment packages in its modern history – a €500 billion commitment aimed at strengthening the country’s military, economy and digital backbone.

Unsurprisingly, a plan of this scale has drawn scrutiny. It’s been hailed as bold, long-term thinking by some, and questioned by others for its potential impact on debt and public finances. That level of scrutiny is healthy. Investments of this size demand thoughtful stewardship and sound decision-making.

But viewed through the lens of long-term economic transformation – and the infrastructure needed to enable it – the opportunity is compelling.

Not just roads and rails

While the headlines might focus on transport, housing and military modernisation, the quiet engine of this plan is digital infrastructure – the fibre, towers, and data centres that underpin everything from cloud computing to AI to industrial automation.

Germany already has the foundations: a highly skilled workforce, a strong industrial base, and some of the most robust data sovereignty rules in the world. What it hasn’t always had is long-term certainty and large-scale public investment.

That’s what makes this move so significant. It’s a clear signal that digital infrastructure isn’t just a tech sector concern – it’s a national strategy.

Laying the groundwork for future growth

The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has forecast that Germany’s data centre capacity will grow to 48GW by the end of the decade – up nearly 80% from today’s levels. That’s not speculative hype. It’s a reflection of real demand: from AI models that need vast compute, to enterprises replatforming legacy IT, to consumers whose expectations for digital services keep rising.

We’re already seeing that demand on the ground. Germany is one of our most important markets – with eight operational data centres in cities like Hamburg, Stuttgart, Berlin and Leverkusen. These are not just tech hubs. They’re also pharma hubs, automotive centres, financial districts – and every one of them needs modern digital infrastructure to grow.

This investment also reinforces why we’ve placed such emphasis on the DACH region as a whole. With its economic weight, digital maturity, and growing demand for capacity at scale and at the edge, it’s a key pillar of our long-term strategy.

Why this matters to investors

What’s most encouraging is the tone of the commitment. This isn’t short-term stimulus or political posturing. The Government has made it clear: this is about long-term transformation, delivered with fiscal discipline and private sector partnership.

That kind of clarity matters. As an investor and operator, you need confidence that a market is going to support your long-term capital cycle. Infrastructure doesn’t work in political soundbites – it works in decades. And Germany is showing that it understands this.

A blueprint for Europe

What Germany is doing should be a blueprint for others. Across Europe, there’s growing recognition that digital infrastructure isn’t just about connectivity – it’s about competitiveness.

Governments have a critical role to play as enablers of this growth: reducing barriers, encouraging investment, and recognising the strategic value of digital infrastructure. In the UK, we’ve seen this recently with the government’s growth agenda and decision to designate data centres as critical national infrastructure – a move that sends a clear signal to industry and investors alike.

The companies building AI models, launching new SaaS platforms, automating manufacturing lines – they all rely on the same invisible layer of infrastructure to succeed. And it’s the job of data centre providers to make sure that infrastructure is fast, local, secure, and sustainable.

Long-term thinking, long-term value

If the last wave of growth was driven by cloud adoption, the next will be fuelled by AI, automation, and the exponential rise in data and bandwidth demand.