Volt Unveils 800MW AI 'Gigafactory' in Rotterdam, Powered by North Sea Wind
April 17, 2026
In a significant move to bolster Europe's strategic autonomy in artificial intelligence, Dutch data center company Volt has announced plans to develop an "AI Gigafactory" in the Port of Rotterdam with a potential capacity of up to 800 megawatts. The project underscores the continent's urgent push to build sovereign, large-scale computing infrastructure, reducing reliance on non-European technology platforms.
The company revealed that the massive facility will be constructed on a site with an existing high-voltage grid connection and is planned to be powered primarily by renewable energy from the North Sea. Volt has partnered with Dutch energy firm Eneco, which is expected to supply the data center from its offshore wind portfolio. The development will be phased, aligning with customer demand and project milestones, with construction potentially starting in 2027.
Volt, which launched just last year, is already at the forefront of Europe's AI infrastructure ambitions. It is leading the Dutch bid to host one of the European Union's planned 300MW AI supercomputing clusters. The Rotterdam Gigafactory, supported by the Dutch government and private sector partners, represents a substantial scaling of this vision. Han de Groot, CEO of Volt, emphasized the strategic imperative, stating, "Today, most of Europe’s AI runs on infrastructure built and operated outside of Europe. That is not just a technology gap, it is a strategic vulnerability. With the Rotterdam AI Gigafactory, we are building the foundation for Europe to become an AI maker, not just an AI taker."
The announcement is part of Volt's aggressive global expansion. The company currently operates from Switch Datacenters' AMS4 facility in Amsterdam with 14MW and has committed to 42MW in Switch's upcoming AMS5 site. Its growth strategy extends beyond the Netherlands, including a joint venture in Poland for 30-100MW of capacity near Warsaw, a planned 400MW deployment in Dallas, Texas, and discussions for a 129MW project in the UAE. This portfolio positions Volt as a key player in supplying the industrial-scale compute required for the next generation of AI development.
Source: datacenterdynamics
