Infomaniak and Gruyère Energie develop a data center project in Bulle designed to limit its footprint

With the public display of the planning application for a future data center in Bulle, Infomaniak and Gruyère Energie SA are taking a new step in developing sustainable infrastructure in the Gruyère region. Planned for 2028, the facility is intended to support the growth of Infomaniak’s business in line with its ethical values of sovereignty and sustainability.

This data center is the Infomaniak group’s largest infrastructure project. At this stage, the company plans to finance it from its own resources, using the cash generated by its business, and to phase its investment in line with the commissioning and gradual ramp-up of the site. The project is intended to keep pace with growing demand, as Infomaniak’s service billings rose by 26.5% in the first half of 2026.

Designed to accommodate 170 server racks, the Bulle data center builds on the concept of D4, which opened in Geneva in 2025 and won the 2026 Green Business Award. The impact of this Geneva data center has been documented by the E4S centre (EPFL, University of Lausanne, IMD), and Infomaniak has made its plans freely available at d4project.org so that others can adopt the model. In Bulle, Infomaniak is going a step further with closed-loop liquid cooling for its compute and AI servers, which is intended to make heat recovery more efficient.

Operated by Infomaniak and set to be powered by 100% renewable electricity, the data center is intended to meet demand for sovereign cloud services and the computing and storage needs created by artificial intelligence. By designing its data centers and software in-house, Infomaniak keeps control of the technologies, infrastructure and data that underpin its services.

Heat reused, not wasted

Located in the heart of an industrial zone, the data center is intended to diversify the supply of Gruyère Energie’s district heating network, which runs on more than 95% renewable energy, while meeting growing needs for hosting, data processing and digital sovereignty in Switzerland.

Thanks to an innovative heat recovery system, the energy produced by the servers is intended to be fully reused in the district heating network, a concrete example of the convergence between the digital and energy transitions. With Gruyère Energie’s heat pumps, the site is expected to supply around 28 GWh of heat per year, while avoiding up to 7,500 tonnes of CO₂ annually compared with heating oil. The heat output of Gruyère Energie’s district heating network will reach 180 GWh by 2030.

This new form of energy recovery does not replace existing renewable sources or other industrial heat recovery projects. It complements them. Local wood energy, which will continue to play a central role in the supply, and the deep geothermal project led by a Gruyère Energie subsidiary will secure long-term needs.

“This data center represents a new generation of digital infrastructure, designed from the outset to limit its footprint. We are giving new life to energy that is usually lost. Once recovered, it will be very useful in supporting the development of the Bulle area. It is a concrete illustration of our vision and our commitment to a regional and innovative energy transition,” explains Michel Beaud, Director of Major Projects at Gruyère Energie.

Modest in size, with no water withdrawal and no farmland used

The building will have a footprint of around 1,200 m², barely a quarter of a football pitch. The project will be built on previously developed land, without using farmland or affecting natural areas. No trees will need to be felled. Located where the electricity, heat and fibre optic networks converge, the chosen plot allows a direct connection to the district heating and electricity networks, limiting the need for additional infrastructure.

The servers will be cooled by closed loops inside the building, with no cooling tower, no evaporation and no water withdrawal. The roof is to be partly green, with rainwater retention.

Particular attention is being paid to the integration of the site and to the comfort of local residents. The technical installations are designed to comply with applicable noise requirements and to limit noise nuisance.

“In Bulle, the goal is for all the electricity consumed by our servers to end up as useful heat in Gruyère Energie’s network. That is what every data center built today should do: recover its heat, not withdraw water needed for other uses, and be transparent about the resources it consumes,” explains Julien Bonnat, Head of Data Center at Infomaniak.

A partnership serving the region

The project is based on the complementary expertise of the two partners. Subject to the contracts still to be finalised, Infomaniak is expected to build and operate the data center, while Gruyère Energie is expected to provide the land, build the heat recovery and reuse installations and supply the site with 100% renewable electricity.

This collaboration reflects a shared vision of infrastructure development: creating more local value by bringing digital and energy networks closer together for the benefit of the region.

Subject to obtaining the necessary permits, construction is expected to begin in the first half of 2027, with commissioning planned for 2028.