How Vienna Plans to Make the Data Center Boom More Environmentally Friendly?

The demand for computing power is growing exponentially due to the ongoing digitalization of the economy, science, and society. A study commissioned by the Vienna Business Agency and conducted by the economic research institute EcoAustria paints a clear picture of the situation: Across Austria, a projected demand of approximately 419 megawatts (MW) is currently met by a meager domestic supply of just 80 to 100 MW.

For Vienna alone, demand is expected to reach around 250 megawatts by 2030. Without targeted expansion, bottlenecks and a growing dependence on foreign providers are likely.

Ten Principles to Combat Uncontrolled Infrastructure Growth

To prevent the necessary infrastructure from being built at the expense of the environment, the power grid, or the drinking water supply, the City of Vienna presented a comprehensive data center strategy on November 10, 2026. Mayor Michael Ludwig, Deputy Mayor Barbara Novak, and NEOS spokesperson on digitalization Stefan Gara made it clear that the city’s location would not be left to chance.

“Digital infrastructure must fit Vienna, not Vienna the digital infrastructure,” emphasizes City Councilor for Economic Affairs Barbara Novak. The strategy itself defines ten binding guiding principles for future projects. Site benefits take precedence over size, as added value for local economic activity, research, and business takes precedence over pure computing capacity. Space efficiency is a top priority, ensuring the economical use of scarce urban land and compatibility with residential and green spaces. Securing the power supply through early coordination with Wiener Netze to ensure that households remain a priority and are protected at all times. The feed-in of waste heat as a mandatory connection to the local and district heating networks in cooperation with Wien Energie. Targeted preference for European solutions to strengthen digital sovereignty and, consequently, support European operators. Strict protection of energy and drinking water, including the use of closed cooling loops to prevent water waste. A high-performance data connection and the expansion of high bandwidths with low latency. Avoiding conflicts of use and prioritizing the use of already developed industrial and infrastructure sites. Modernizing existing stock (refurbishment) and, consequently, first increasing the efficiency of existing centers before constructing new buildings. Ensuring technological autonomy and, consequently, avoiding monopolies and lock-in effects by individual cloud giants.

Six Measures for Citywide Coordination

To implement these guidelines in practice, the City of Vienna is establishing a package of organizational measures. The Vienna Business Agency is creating a central point of contact for operators and investors. Funding programs are designed to facilitate access to local computing capacity for smaller companies, particularly SMEs and startups. Internal municipal coordination involves a new city committee that coordinates electricity, data, land-use, and heating networks. Forward-looking site management with targeted planning regulations prevents misguided investments. Regional cooperation and close coordination with the neighboring states of Lower Austria and Burgenland are pursued with a view to forming a metropolitan region. Monitoring and evaluation, including ongoing screening, will lay the groundwork for the strategic review in 2028.

Seestadt Aspern Flagship Project: 48 MW Capacity and Green Heat

As its first concrete project, STRABAG Real Estate, in collaboration with the Vienna Business Agency, is implementing a modular data center in Seestadt Aspern.

Key Project Data at a Glance

Thanks to the innovative cooling system, no drinking water evaporates during operation, and no heated water is discharged into the environment. The recovered waste heat is to be fed directly into Vienna’s district heating network and, in line with the Twin Transition—the integration of digital and ecological transformation—contribute to a climate-neutral heat supply.

Conflicting Objectives and Potential Vulnerabilities

The City of Vienna’s data center strategy is reaching its limits, particularly in terms of practical and economic implementation. The requirement to rely exclusively on European providers excludes the best-capitalized global cloud giants (such as AWS or Google), which could delay investments and jeopardize full utilization of the planned 48-MW project. In addition, waste heat utilization requires technically complex large-scale heat pumps to raise temperatures, as well as expensive pipeline construction—unclear economic viability risks undermining the environmental requirements in practice.

Another bottleneck is the enormous strain on the energy infrastructure. Vienna’s projected demand of 250 megawatts by 2030 puts massive pressure on Wiener Netze; furthermore, true climate neutrality can only be guaranteed if the systems are operated exclusively with newly generated green energy. At the same time, the city’s scope for action remains limited: Since the strategy is a political guideline and not a federal law, there is a lack of binding mechanisms for private properties as well as enforcement measures to compel the retrofitting of inefficient existing systems.

Finally, there is a risk of regulatory workarounds in the surrounding areas. If the requirements regarding operator selection, drinking water protection, and heat injection within Vienna’s city limits are perceived as too strict or unprofitable, investors could simply shift their operations to neighboring Lower Austria or Burgenland. Without legally binding, cross-regional coordination, Vienna’s sustainable approach thus risks coming to an end at the city limits.

Particularly commendable is the proactive “Vienna Model,” through which the city establishes clear rules rather than leaving the expansion of digital infrastructure unregulated to the market. In particular, the strategic linking of digitalization and climate protection—for example, through the requirement to use waste heat for the district heating network and strict guidelines for waterless cooling cycles—sets international standards for sustainable urban development. In addition, the focus on European operators and the 5 percent stake in the development company strengthens digital sovereignty as well as the city’s direct right to have a say, in line with the principles of digital humanism.

The start of construction for the project is contingent upon final approvals and the engagement of a suitable European operator. To involve the local community, comprehensive information sessions for residents are planned for the upcoming project phase.

City of Vienna