The construction company Hochtief appears to be preparing its own application for one of the AI Gigafactories being funded by the European Union, based on reports from “Handelsblatt” citing several individuals familiar with the plans. The Essens-based corporation is currently negotiating with potential partners, including the telecommunication provider Vodafone, while also assessing various locations for the data center. Both Hochtief and Vodafone declined to comment on the information when approached by the newspaper.
Concurrently, the Spanish parent company, ACS, is also actively pursuing a Gigafactory. According to “Handelsblatt”, ACS is planning an application in collaboration with Telefónica and Santander. All three corporations are aiming for the largest facilities, which require a minimum of 100,000 specialized processors and benefit from public funding of up to one billion euros. Though ACS and Hochtief are legally independent entities, their respective proposals must be developed and submitted completely separately, as per the tender conditions.
The EU intends to support the establishment of up to seven highly powerful AI data centers, utilizing total public funds of up to ten billion euros. The goal is to provide European businesses and research institutions with access to massive computational capabilities. Applications for these projects remain open until December 3rd.
