In 2026, Grow the Future will bring an interdisciplinary group of German officials and experts to the US to examine the emerging politics of data center activism. Companies are investing tens of billions of dollars in hyperscale data centers that place new strains on climate goals and require unprecedented amounts of water, land, and energy. A parallel boom is reshaping Europe as rapid AI deployment converges with growing demands for sovereign control over critical digital infrastructure. The latest generation of AI data centers – with names like Stargate , Prometheus , Hyperion , and Colossus – is already transforming local communities and ecosystems. With limited public policy frameworks in place to govern responsible growth, data center expansion is becoming a significant political issue ahead of the US midterm congressional elections later this year. Environmental justice groups and community advocates are elevating concerns around climate impacts, water use, public health, social equity, Indigenous rights, and corporate power. Their efforts have had tangible effects: in 2025 alone, grassroots campaigns contributed to the cancellation of dozens of proposed data centers representing billions of dollars in investment, even as overall construction is expected to continue at a rapid pace in 2026. Grow the Future participants will travel to Arizona and California to meet policymakers, Indigenous leaders, and experts on technology, land, water, and energy to examine how local activism has responded to the explosive growth of data centers in the US. In Northern California , they will meet with progressive activist groups, state lawmakers, and tech companies with alternative visions for the rollout of AI and other resource intensive technologies. In Arizona , participants will engage directly with Indigenous communities, state agencies, utilities, and environmental justice and youth groups in one of North America’s fastest-growing data center regions, where water scarcity, grid expansion, and digital infrastructure have become central political and environmental challenges. Participants in Grow the Future 2026 will bring home a stronger understanding of how local movements in the United States are reshaping debates over the social, environmental, and political consequences of rapid data center expansion. Participants will see what similar growth could mean for Europe -- how the green movement can respond. By linking these experiences to European policy discussions, the program will strengthen transatlantic collaboration around more just, democratic, and climate-aligned approaches to digital infrastructure. Even amid a growing transatlantic rupture, progressive movements in Europe and the US can build new networks for a just, green future. What is Grow the Future? Grow the Future is an annual project led by the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Washington, DC and Berlin offices. Each year, the project brings a group of 8-10 young professionals (ages 21 to 35) from Germany/Europe to North America to explore transatlantic green policy issues. Participants become part of the Grow the Future alumni network, where they have ongoing opportunities to connect with green-minded experts and partners at the Heinrich Böll Foundation. By offering exceptional opportunities for transatlantic learning and dialogue, Grow the Future promotes the next generation of green voices. It creates a network of promising young policymakers, professionals, and activists in Germany who are leading green initiatives - to fight climate change while protecting liberal democracy, human rights, and open societies, and to ensure a sustainable future for the next generation. The network launched in 2020, and participants have traveled to Miami, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Toronto, South Bend, Detroit, and Washington, DC, Montreal, and Ottawa exploring issues ranging from climate migration to digital sovereignty.
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