One of the first so-called AI factories (AI = artificial intelligence) in Germany and the first in Bavaria has gone into operation in Munich's Tucherpark. As the investors – the asset manager Commerz Real and the globally active real estate investment manager Hines – announced, the district development has thus been expanded by an important use that strengthens Munich as a technology and business location. In October 2025, the two had already signed a 13-year lease agreement with the operator Polarise for the former data center of Hypovereinsbank (HVB). The anchor user of the first expansion stage is the Telekom subsidiary T-Systems. The output is to be gradually expanded to up to 15 megawatts, a typical value for medium-sized data centers.
"This means that one of the most powerful infrastructures for AI computers in Germany has been created in the heart of Munich years before comparable projects elsewhere in Germany," says Michel Boutouil, CEO of Polarise. Founded in 2024, the company says it draws on the expertise and experience of many successfully implemented data centers over the past 15 years and operates AI factories "throughout the entire life cycle". A first similar facility was opened in Oslo in 2025. Further factories are planned or already being implemented in Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.
In contrast to conventional data centers, AI factories have a significantly higher performance and energy density. The 10,700-square-meter facility on six basement floors in Tucherpark has a capacity for around 10,000 modern graphics processing units (GPUs), which is provided by the American technology company Nvidia. Users of the infrastructure are companies from industry, research and technology. Built in 1991 and used by HVB until June 2024, the facility has been comprehensively modernized. A new above-ground access with truck entrance and office space also replaces the previous access via an underground tunnel under the Eisbach.
"Munich is an outstanding location with great attraction for tech companies and wants to play a leading role in European AI development in the future," emphasizes Mario Schüttauf, Managing Director of Commerz Real Investmentgesellschaft, whose portfolio includes Tucherpark. And Christian Meister, Senior Managing Director at Hines in Germany, adds: "In Tucherpark, we have an optimal infrastructure that allows us to implement these plans quickly, cost-effectively and in an environmentally friendly way." The AI factory is embedded in Tucherpark's sustainability strategy. The waste heat generated is used to supply energy to the surrounding buildings – a concept that Polarise is already successfully using to heat the international airport at its Oslo site. In Munich, the Eisbach is also used to cool the plants.
