Uniper SE and TenneT BV have agreed to develop a new central network node in Großkrotzenburg, Germany to serve data center-driven growth in power demand in the greater Frankfurt area, targeting to start operation earlier than planned.Under the partnership, German power and gas utility Uniper agreed to sell part of a plot of land at the Staudinger power plant to enable TenneT, a transmission system operator in the Netherlands and Germany, to build a switching station.”The core of the project is the construction of a new 380-kilovolt switchyard, which will create extensive additional capacity for urgently needed customer connections in the Rhine-Main area”, said a joint statement online. “The connection of new and existing extra-high-voltage lines will further strengthen electricity transmission to the Frankfurt metropolitan area and neighboring regions, particularly Lower Franconia.At the same time, the new grid infrastructure will form the basis for connecting important Uniper transformation projects at the Staudinger site. Plans include a hydrogen-ready combined cycle gas turbine plant as part of the German government’s expected tender for flexible generation capacities, as well as the prospective establishment of battery storage facilities and data centers”.The station is scheduled to start service by 2030, Uniper said.”With this project, we are launching our extensive grid expansion program in the Rhine-Main region, one of Germany’s key growth areas”, said TenneT Germany chief operating officer Ina Kamps.In September 2025 Tennet said it had submitted a plan to authorities and thereby launched the approval process for a 380 kV extra-high-voltage overhead line stretching about nine kilometers (5.59 miles) between Bommersheim and Eschborn. The new line would replace a section of the 380-kV line between the Frankfurt Südwest and Karben substations