Frankfurt am Main, March 31, 2023

On March 30, 2023, the energy producer Kraftwerke Mainz Wiesbaden Aktiengesellschaft ("KMW") and the Norwegian data center company Green Mountain signed a joint venture agreement for the construction of a data center on the Ingelheimer Aue. KMW was advised on the establishment of the joint venture with Green Mountain in almost all legal aspects by Schalast's team led by Corporate Partner Kristof Schnitzler, in particular in the areas of corporate law, real estate law and energy law.

The two companies each have a 50 percent share in the new data centre company Green Mountain KMW Data Center GmbH.

The state capital of Mainz has already approved the building application. Three buildings with a total IT capacity of 54 MW are to be built successively on the Ingelheimer Aue on a site area of 25,000 square metres, which corresponds to about three and a half football pitches . Construction of the first building is expected to begin in autumn 2023.

Kristof Schnitzler, Corporate Partner at Schalast, explains: "The establishment of this joint venture is of particular importance for our client, Kraftwerke Mainz Wiesbaden, as it is at the same time the conclusion of a lengthy process and the starting shot of an extremely exciting project. It is precisely the combination of secure, emission-free power supply, sustainable heat utilization and efficient cooling that makes the data center unique, even considering its size. We were very pleased that Schalast was able to accompany Kraftwerke Mainz Wiesbaden in this project with a team from different practice groups."

 

Sustainable partnership

KMW is using synergies at the site to sustainably supply the buildings and is responsible for their subsequent maintenance. The company will provide specialist personnel for this purpose

"It was important for us to find a partner with sufficient experience in the construction and operation of data centres as well as in the area of customer acquisition. Green Mountain complements us perfectly," explains Dr Oliver Malerius, CEO of KMW.

Green Mountain operates highly secure and sustainable data centres in Norway and England. The Norwegian company will market the data centre space and bring customers to the Ingelheimer Aue.

"Green Mountain has a vision to set the green standard in the data centre industry. That's why we particularly liked KMW's environmentally friendly approach to data centre operations," reasons Svein Atle Hagaseth, CEO of Green Mountain.

 

Advisor Kraftwerke Mainz Wiesbaden

Inhouse: Tobias Junglas

Schalast (Frankfurt/Main, Hamburg): Kristof Schnitzler (Lead Partner, Corporate/M&A), Prof. Dr. Christoph Schalast (Managing Partner, Procurement and Antitrust Law, Frankfurt/Main), Yeghaneh Salamati (Associate, Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt/Main), Hanna Löschan (Associate, Antitrust Law, Frankfurt/Main), Janka Schwaibold (Partner, Energy Law, Hamburg), Dr. Matthias Geurts (Partner, Tax Law, Frankfurt/Main).

Advisors Green Mountain

Taylor Wessing (Hamburg, Frankfurt/Main): Daniel Ajzensztejn (Lead, Partner, Real Estate,Hamburg), Dr. Michael Lamsa (Partner, Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt/Main), Dr. Sabine Kaben (Partner, Real Estate, Hamburg), Nikoloz Alikhanashvili (Accociate, Real Estate, Hamburg), Josefin Eleonore Nagel (Accociate, Real Estate, Hamburg), Dr. Andre Lippert (Partner, Energy Law, Hamburg)

Background information

Schalast has already been working for Kraftwerke Mainz Wiesbaden for several years. The contact came through Prof. Dr. Christoph Schalast, for whom the project represents both a "matter of the heart" and a strategic signpost. He explains: "Sustainable projects and regional energy suppliers have been a focus of our consulting for years. This is demonstrated not least by the continuous growth of our energy law team led by Janka Schwaibold. Advising 'green data centers' at the interface of corporate/M&A, energy law and real estate is a declared focus of our firm's strategy.

About KMW

KMW is a municipal producer of electricity, steam and district heating with deep roots in the region. The company has been reliably supplying the Mainz-Wiesbaden area with energy since 1931. With their high availability and excellent efficiency, the power plants on the Ingelheimer Aue are among the most efficient in the world. Almost 500 employees at KMW reliably ensure the region's energy supply.

In addition to conventional power generation, KMW has secured important business areas in the fields of renewable energies, energy management or hydrogen in recent years. The investment in a data centre strategically continues the diversification of KMW's business model.

Mainzer Stadtwerke AG and ESWE Versorgungs AG are shareholders in KMW, each holding a 50 percent share.

http://www.kmw-ag.de/

 

About Green Mountain

Green Mountain designs, builds and operates highly secure, innovative and sustainable data centres in Norway and England. The data centres are powered by low-cost, 100 per cent renewable electricity and the use of fjord water cooling in the Norwegian data centres ensures high energy efficiency.

The company was acquired by the Israeli Azrieli Group in 2021 and currently operates the following data centre sites: SVG1-Rennesøy near Stavanger, RJU1-Rjukan in Telemark and the OSL1-Enebakk data centre about 20 km outside Olso. In addition, a data centre in London (LON1-East) was recently established through the acquisition of an existing company and is located in one of the most important data centre hubs in the world. All data centres are powered 100 per cent by electricity from renewable energy sources. Existing customers include large international companies from the cloud, banking/finance, HPC and automotive sectors, among others.

The security of the data centres is at the highest level and Green Mountain has several ISO certifications.

http://www.greenmountain.no/

 

About Schalast

Schalast is one of the leading commercial law firms in the German financial center of Frankfurt am Main. The firm also has offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart. Schalast advises companies from Germany and all over the world. The currently more than 75 lawyers are organized in the practice groups Employment Law, Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution, IP, Media & Technology, Tax and Energy, Infrastructure & Communications. The notary's office forms a further focus. The firm is a member of the international Tier 1 network Multilaw and is thus able to assist clients worldwide.

The firm is committed to actively contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UN SDGs). To this end, SDG standards and an SDG officer, among other things, have been introduced. The firm has been certified as climate neutral since the beginning of 2020, became a member of the Climate Change Now Initiative in the summer of 2021, and has supported social projects through pro bono work and donations for years.

http://www.schalast.com/

 

Media contact in this matter

Kristof Schnitzler

Mendelssohnstraße 75-77

60325 Frankfurt am Main

Telefon: +49 (0) 69 97583130

E-Mail: [email protected]