Germany’s government AI task force has drafted a blueprint for the country to become a “sovereign AI nation” by 2030, with targets for business adoption, federal agencies and data-centre capacity. The report was due to be presented to the National Security Council and at an AI summit in Berlin on 2 November, Politico reported that day. The task force, established in June to coordinate work across ministries, proposes 18 measures. Its report says those measures do not constitute funding decisions.
Key points
- The draft targets AI adoption by 2030 in at least 80% of large firms and 55% of small and medium enterprises.
- The blueprint aims for 90% of federal agencies to run at least one AI application in production.
- The government plans to increase domestic AI data-centre capacity by 300% compared with 2025.
- The proposed measures do not decide funding or prejudge future budget procedures.
The 2030 targets reach companies and agencies
The task force wants Germany to narrow its AI capability gap with the United States and China. Its adoption targets distinguish between large companies and smaller businesses: by 2030, it wants AI in use at at least 80% of large companies and 55% of small and medium-sized businesses. These are government ambitions in a draft plan, rather than obligations the blueprint places on individual companies.
For federal agencies, the target is to have at least one AI application in production at 90% of them. The plan also envisages AI agents preparing administrative processes from start to finish and, where the law permits, completing them with full automation. The legal qualification matters to the proposal’s operation: the task force describes automation of those processes as conditional on existing permission, while setting a separate target for agencies to put an application into use.
The report identifies industrial AI as a focus for models developed in Germany. It calls for specialised models and production systems using AI to raise productivity and quality, improve industrial processes and help manage complex systems. Germany and Nvidia have also signed a joint declaration to develop industrial AI models, as AI Affairs previously reported. The task force’s blueprint places that industrial emphasis alongside targets for adoption across businesses and the federal administration.
Data centres and a European computing ecosystem
One of the proposed measures would expand AI computing infrastructure and connect it across Europe. Another concerns the semiconductor value chain. The government is also working towards a 300% increase in domestic AI data-centre capacity against its 2025 level, according to Politico’s account of the report. Capacity is therefore a stated target alongside adoption, rather than a consequence the task force expects business and agency use alone to deliver.
The blueprint also seeks access to leading models developed elsewhere while building European alternatives. It proposes closer work with France and Canada and names cooperation with the French AI company Mistral among the ways to support sovereign access. That approach joins domestic development to access through partners. It does not make the 2030 ambition depend solely on models built in Germany.
The task force describes the next 12 to 18 months as decisive for setting Germany’s course. Its proposed work spans computing capacity, chips, industrial applications and international cooperation, all within a plan prepared to coordinate initiatives across several ministries. The data-centre target uses 2025 as its comparison year, while the business and agency adoption targets are set for 2030.
Public contracts without a funding decision
The government plans to act as a “strategic anchor customer” for European AI providers. Under the blueprint, it would use public contracts and pilot projects to help them enter the market. That would give federal purchasing a role in developing a supply of AI systems, alongside the task force’s aim of putting applications into production across federal agencies. The plan describes the intended use of contracts, not an award to a named provider.
Politico reported that the blueprint lacks key details on financing. Its 18 measures “neither constitute funding decisions nor prejudge” future budget procedures. The proposed capacity expansion and public purchasing role consequently sit in a draft that does not itself commit money to them. For ministries pursuing the measures, financing remains subject to the budget process the task force expressly leaves open.
