Sampension plans to build an 8,000 square meter, 30 MW climate-conscious data center in Esbjerg based on the ECO-LocaXion concept. They have now purchased 10 hectares of land from Esbjerg Municipality. At the same time, an agreement has been finalized with DIN Forsyning to ensure the reuse of byproducts through a circular production approach. Jesper Frost Rasmussen calls it an excellent start to the year.
The project is a collaboration between multiple stakeholders: ECO-LocaXion will handle development and future operations, Sampension has invested in the 10-hectare site and acts as the property developer, while DIN Forsyning will utilize the generated heat in the district heating network. Esbjerg Municipality has thus succeeded in realizing its vision of attracting more data centers to the city.
“This marks an excellent start to the year for Esbjerg. The investment in a future data center confirms that our focused strategy to attract data centers is yielding results. With access to international data connections and with the supply of green, stable energy, we have laid the foundation for a digital powerhouse — not just for Denmark, but for all of Northern Europe,” says Mayor Jesper Frost Rasmussen, adding: “The new jobs, some of which will undoubtedly attract highly skilled tech talents, fit perfectly with our ambitions to help shape the digital infrastructure of the future.”
Supporting the Mayor’s statements, CEO of Business Esbjerg Karsten Rieder expresses: “The investment combines two major and important focus areas: attracting data centers and green transition. The data center has a vision of being one of the most climate-conscious ones ever. This highlights Esbjerg as an energy metropolis and a digital hub. This is truly great news for the city.”
An attractive investment
For Sampension, the investment aligns well with the pension company’s strategy of pursuing investments that considers sustainability while also ensuring attractive returns for pension customers:
“We are very pleased to collaborate with ECO-LocaXion, Esbjerg Municipality, and DIN Forsyning on the development of this data center, where the generated heat can be utilized in the district heating network and thereby is not just wasted. Additionally, we will focus on other sustainability considerations in the development of the data center, including reducing the carbon footprint of the facility’s construction. At the same time, we see great potential in the data center segment in general, and overall, this investment case has very attractive return potential,” says Torbjørn Lange, Head of Real Estate and Infrastructure at Sampension.
A data center of 8,000 square meters
ECO-LocaXion, who is responsible for the development, specialises in building climate-conscious data centers. Construction is scheduled to start late 2025, early 2026.
“We are happy and proud that the collaboration has come together for us as a start-up company, and that the municipality, DIN Forsyning, and Sampension have been willing to support such a financially heavy project from a very early stage. This allows us to construct an 8,000-square-meter, 30 MW data center,” says Gitte Jensen, founder of ECO-LocaXion ApS, adding: “This gives us the opportunity to create a unique symbiosis between two infrastructures — the digital one which we belong to, and district heating, which DIN Forsyning belongs to.”
“We cater to mid-to-high-density clients. Our innovative concept makes it possible to create benefits for both the environment and society, as well as for our customers. Fortunately, all three parties have embraced this vision.”
Important Partnerships
The multi-utility company DIN Forsyning supplies district heating to approximately 25,500 households in Esbjerg and Varde. They have entered into an agreement for sector coupling in a circular process between the district heating network and the data center.
“At DIN Forsyning, we have a long-term strategy to avoid waste and use society’s resources wisely. Sector coupling as well as partnerships play a crucial role in making this possible, which is why we are very pleased to enter into this partnership with Sampension and ECO-LocaXion to utilize the heat from the upcoming data center in our district heating network. This enables us to use resources that are left over from others, rather than producing district heating ourselves.
“We expect to start receiving district heating from the data center by the end of 2027 and, after some time, to receive enough heat for approximately 1,700 households. Down the line, there is potential for the data center to provide heat equivalent to more than 5,000 households,” says Henrik H. Blicher, Project Manager at DIN Forsyning.
“It’s an especially strong signal for Esbjerg that we are not only capable of attracting a data center, but also integrating it into business development with local companies,” says Karsten Rieder, while Gitte Jensen explains that it was by no means a coincidence that they turned their attention to Esbjerg.
“Esbjerg is a metropolis that strongly supports the data center industry. The city is conscious about being sustainable, and the infrastructure for fiber connections is excellent.”
