Digital Realty Secures Approval for Sixth Marseille Data Center, a €700 Million AI-Ready Facility

Digital Realty Cleared for Major AI Data Center Expansion in MarseilleNovember 21, 2025

In a significant move underscoring the strategic importance of the Mediterranean digital hub, global colocation leader Digital Realty has received final regulatory approval to develop its sixth data center in Marseille, France. This expansion reinforces the city's status as a critical gateway for data traffic between Europe, Africa, and Asia and addresses the soaring power demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The company plans to invest approximately €700 million (roughly $811 million) to convert a vast 26,000-square-meter former warehouse in Bouc-Bel-Air, just north of Marseille, into a state-of-the-art facility. First announced in 2023, the project, known as MRS6, is designed to deliver 50 megawatts of total IT capacity across seven data halls. To support high-density AI workloads, the design anticipates power requirements of up to 120kW per rack, necessitating a dedicated high-voltage power feed.

Digital Realty will establish a new 225,000-volt connection from French grid operator RTE's Realtor substation in Cabriès directly to an on-site substation. Construction is slated to begin this year, with the facility expected to be operational by 2028.

This new build continues Digital Realty's deep investment in the Marseille region, which began in 2014 with the acquisition of a facility from SFR (now MRS1). The company's campus now includes multiple sites: MRS2, MRS3, and MRS4 are all located within 500 meters of the new project, with the latter two utilizing sustainable river cooling systems. MRS3 operates from a repurposed World War II submarine base, while MRS5, set to launch this year, is built on the grounds of a former sugar factory.

The approval of MRS6 aligns with a broader $5.5 billion investment commitment Digital Realty announced last year for new data centers in Paris and Marseille, a pledge made at an international AI summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron. This expansion highlights the intense competition and capital influx into European data center markets, particularly for facilities engineered to support next-generation, power-intensive computing.

Source: datacenterdynamics