E.ON reviews former German nuclear sites for data centres

Nov 11 : Europe's largest energy grid operator E.ON is reviewing whether former nuclear plant sites in Germany could be converted into data centres, its finance chief said on Wednesday during a post-earnings presentation.

A six-decade nuclear programme in Germany came to an end in 2023, leaving dozens of inactive sites across the country, after Berlin pledged to quit nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.

• "These former power plants can provide attractive industrial locations and depending on the site, we can use the existing infrastructure, particularly the large grid connection," CFO Nadia Jakobi said

• E.ON is taking a "first step" with US chip designer Nvidia to establish the project's viability, she added

• Jakobi said she was hopeful former sites would soon become available and that E.ON had become "world class" in nuclear demolition