Digital infrastructure company Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) today opened its new International Business Exchange (IBX) data center – MU4 – located in Aschheim near Munich, Germany.

The development of MU4 aims to support the growing digital needs of local companies—particularly from the automotive, industrial, financial and healthcare sectors—by providing them with direct, secure and fast connections to a multitude of cloud providers, services and partners. The new site is carrier-neutral and offers customers access to a comprehensive digital ecosystem spanning various industries and markets through Platform Equinix.

In addition, customers benefit from Equinix’s colocation and interconnection services, including the software-defined Equinix Fabric™ service, which enables enterprises to quickly and flexibly connect to leading cloud and network providers.

MU4 is designed in line with Equinix’s global sustainability strategy, which aims for climate-neutral operation by 2030. Like other new Equinix builds in Germany, MU4 will have a green façade and partially planted roof. The greenery acts as additional natural insulation and cooling, also ensuring the building blends into the cityscape. Furthermore, the next construction phase of the data center is due to see the installation of an Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) system.

The new facility expands Equinix’s presence in the Munich area, where two data centers—MU1 and MU3—are already in operation. The opening is part of a series of strategic investments in the German market in response to growing demand for digital infrastructure services. In the fall of 2021, the company opened FR8 and FR9x—new colocation and hyperscale sites in Frankfurt.

The first phase of MU4 provides 2,250+ square meters of colocation space and more than 825 cabinets of capacity. To date, Equinix has invested US$90M in the new building and over US$1.6B in Germany. The company operates 12 data centers in Munich, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Hamburg, as part of a global network of over 235 data centers in 65 markets.