Introduction 2

AI’s Economic Promise 3

The Scale of AI and Data Centre Expansion 3

  A Global Race for Computing Power 4

  Germany’s Data Centre Boom 4

The Physical Foundations of AI: Resources and Infrastructure 5

  Energy Supply for Data Centres 5

  Competing for the Same Electrons 6

  The Grid Bottleneck 6

  Water Consumption 8

  Critical Minerals 9

  Energy, Water, Minerals and Infrastructure as the New Chokepoints 11

The Emerging Geography of AI Power 11

  Current Leaders Still Hold Advantages 11

What This Means for Germany and Europe 12

Translating the Physical Race for AI into Policy 13

  Digital Sovereignty is a Question of Resource Security 13

  AI Infrastructure is a Matter of Industrial Competitiveness and Local Prosperity 13

  Build a European “AI Home Advantage” Based on Domestic Resources and Value Chains 13

  Develop “Resource-Aware” AI Infrastructure Zones 13

Imprint 16