Data Center: Between Global Growth and Local Challenges

Read the German version of this insight here

This article for the magazine IMMOBILIA (2026/07) describes related developments and challenges in Switzerland.

Every morning, millions of people reach for their smartphones to check emails, read news, or plan their commute. While shopping, we scan QR codes; in the evening, we stream series and let AI assistants support us with everyday tasks. What seems like self-evident magic is based on highly complex physical infrastructure: data centers. These buildings are the foundation of our digitalized society with steadily growing importance.

The developments are impressive: according to forecasts by the International Data Corporation (IDC), the global data volume of 175 zettabytes in 2025 will double by 2028, following a doubling that already occurred between 2021 and 2025. Accordingly, nearly 100 gigawatts (GW) of new data center capacity is expected to be created worldwide by 2030. This boom is primarily driven by cloud migration and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.

In this global context, Switzerland is gaining increasing importance as a data center location. Three central factors make local storage locations attractive:
 

• Speed and Latency: When data is transferred back and forth between data centers and users, physical distance determines speed. Proximity to users and customers minimizes latency, guarantees optimal performance, and can be business-critical for the financial sector, robotics, autonomous driving, or cloud computing.
• Data Protection and Sovereignty: Political stability and the best possible protection from government access and cyberattacks are decisive location factors. Especially in times of geopolitical tensions, awareness of digital sovereignty is growing. Local data centers are part of the emancipation from American and Chinese technology corporations.
• Redundancy and Failover Security: Modern companies require redundancy concepts. Ideally, multiple storage locations are situated on geologically stable ground at appropriate distances, so that seamless operation is ensured in the event of a failure.

Switzerland is in high demand as a data center location. Currently, there are over 100 commercial data centers in the country, with usable floor areas between 100 and 30,000 m². The floor space inventory is growing continuously; accordingly, power consumption has also increased from 3.6% of total power consumption in 2019 to approximately 6 to 8% today, with forecasts of up to 15% in 2030.

The Zurich region shows a particularly high density of data centers. The availability of electricity, an existing fiber optic network, and proximity to corporate customers ensure low latency and fast data transfers. Since 2009, the energy provider EKZ alone has connected 17 data centers to the Zurich power grid and has received over 100 connection requests in the last five years. Six of nine new substations between 2014 and 2030 are being built primarily for data centers.

Significant projects include the Green Metro Campus in Dielsdorf with 35 MW of power capacity, the "STACK Infrastructure" project in Beringen (36 MW), the "Vantage Data Centers" project in Volketswil with around 100 MW, and CH One by Global Technical Realty on the Campus Reichhold in Hausen/Lupfig (24 MW).

Despite favorable framework conditions, finding suitable land is often challenging. The biggest bottleneck is high-performance power supply - typically 50 to 100 MW - and its availability within a reasonable timeframe. The numbers are sobering: connecting more than 50 MW and building substations usually takes seven to ten years, creating strong dependence on network operators and their capacities. Increased electricity costs are also an aggravating factor: according to the Federal Electricity Commission ElCom, the median electricity price for large companies in Switzerland consistently ranged between 12.5 and 14.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from 2011 to 2022. Since 2023, the median electricity price has been above 19.4 cents per kWh. Additional challenges include land size (typically 5,000 to 60,000 m² of developable industrial parcels with building heights over 18 m) and regulatory requirements. In the canton of Zurich, for example, data centers must make waste heat available to third parties at production costs, even though district heating networks are sometimes still missing.

Because operating data centers involves consuming large amounts of energy, their energy efficiency is all the more important. Despite ongoing improvements, potential remains in cooling and waste heat utilization. The PUE value (Power Usage Effectiveness), which measures energy efficiency, is slightly below the global average of 1.56 in Switzerland. Innovative cooling methods such as liquid cooling or immersion cooling could enable energy savings of 30 to 40%, but place higher demands on maintenance and floor construction.

A substantial part of data centers' asset value lies in the existing power supply and building infrastructure. Therefore, even older properties can represent an interesting investment if they are well maintained. Users' high switching costs and ongoing technological updates create value stability. Demand for digital infrastructure will not decrease; on the contrary: those who invest today in resilient, sustainable, and quickly available data center capacity secure not only economic value creation but also a piece of digital sovereignty for the future. To remain globally competitive, it is therefore essential for Switzerland to optimize the necessary framework conditions. These include in particular: fast approval processes, coordinated network expansion plans, and incentives for sustainable solutions.