Since 2018, the Alliance founded under the umbrella of eco has been committed to strengthening the digital infrastructure ecosystem in Germany. Such an ecosystem encompasses data centre operators, Internet Exchange points, colocation providers, Internet service providers, carriers, cloud providers, software manufacturers and representatives from the application industry.

2025 was a politically eventful year, shaped by the German federal elections and the subsequent formation of a new government, during which the industry initiative was able not only to strategically position many of its demands but also to see them implemented. Even during the election campaign, the Alliance drew attention to its demands for the incoming federal government and its political agenda. The list was extensive: it included not only competitive electricity prices, improved grid connection capacities for data centres and their inclusion in the electricity price compensation scheme, but also accelerated planning and approval procedures, as well as reducing the German Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) to the minimum level required by EU law.

Through continuous dialogue with decision-makers at federal, state and municipal levels, as well as through numerous policy papers and statements, many of these demands are now reflected in the coalition agreement. These include strengthening Germany as a data centre location, the aforementioned inclusion of data centres in the electricity price compensation, and the adjustment of the EnEfG. The Alliance was able to build on these successes in its continued dialogue with the German federal government and the newly constituted parliament.

In addition, several “Alliance Talks” provided an opportunity to engage in open dialogue with Members of the Bundestag and political decision-makers. For instance, the German federal government’s data centre strategy – already announced in the coalition agreement – was the main topic of a panel discussion hosted by the Alliance on 4 December at the Quadriga Forum. Prior to this, the initiative had hosted an Alliance Talk in Frankfurt, where discussions included an exchange with Hesse’s Minister for Digital Affairs, Prof. Dr Kristina Sinemus, on Hesse’s data centre strategy.