The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is building a new data center for artificial intelligence (AI) and scientific computing. The aim is to provide researchers, universities and public institutions throughout Baden-Württemberg with an even more powerful digital infrastructure, strengthening the state’s digital sovereignty. By using the waste heat, it also contributes to climate protection. The federal government and the state of Baden‑Württemberg are providing 24 million euros in funding for the project.
Research in medicine, environmentally friendly energy supply and modern AI applications requires enormous computing power. At the same time, the demands placed on the energy-efficient operation of data centers are increasing. By building a new data center, KIT is now paving the way to meet the growing demand for computing power whilst making its digital infrastructure more sustainable.
“For us, digitalization and sustainability go hand in hand,” says Professor Kora Kristof, Vice President Digitalization and Sustainability at KIT. “With the new data center, we’re laying the foundation for tomorrow’s research and AI applications. At the same time, we use the waste heat generated to heat buildings on campus and optimize the data center's operations in line with sustainability criteria. This strengthens our digital infrastructure and drives KIT’s decarbonization and other sustainability efforts forward.”
Infrastructure Grows with Demand
“High-performance data centers are essential for many scientific breakthroughs and for the successful use of artificial intelligence,” says Professor Martin Frank, Director of the Scientific Computing Center (SCC) at KIT. “Whether it’s developing new medicines, understanding climate change or designing sustainable energy systems – many tough challenges simply can’t be tackled without serious computing power.”
The plant is initially expected to have an electrical output of around two megawatts. This computing power makes it possible to run several large-scale scientific simulations and AI applications at the same time. Thanks to a modular design and a power supply of up to ten megawatts, the computing capacity can be expanded as demand increases.
More Utilization, Less Downtime: AI by Day, Simulations by Night
“Computing power is a valuable resource. Our aim is to build a system that can ‘breathe’ with demand,” says Dr. Martin Nußbaumer, who also heads the SCC at KIT. “During the day, it provides more capacity for AI applications when demand for them is particularly high. At night, it uses the same infrastructure for resource-intensive simulations, for example in climate research. This helps us prevent idle capacity while also strengthening digital sovereignty through a well‑developed set of AI services that make smart use of existing resources.”
The data center is being built in the immediate vicinity of the combined heat and power plant on KIT’s Campus North. The heat generated by the computers is to be fed into the campus heating network via heat pumps. This will enable the data center to cover a large proportion of the buildings’ heating requirements in future and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
Construction is due to begin as soon as possible and be completed by the end of 2029. The first computers are expected to become operational in 2030. They will then replace existing systems at KIT and create additional capacity for data-intensive research.
Costing an estimated 24 million euros, the project forms part of the federal government’s fast‑track construction initiative to accelerate key infrastructure for science, digitalization and innovation. (mex)
In close partnership with society, KIT develops solutions for urgent challenges – from climate change, energy transition and sustainable use of natural resources to artificial intelligence, sovereignty and an aging population. As The University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT unites scientific excellence from insight to application-driven research under one roof – and is thus in a unique position to drive this transformation. As a University of Excellence, KIT offers its more than 10,000 employees and 23,000 students outstanding opportunities to shape a sustainable and resilient future. KIT – Science for Impact.