The city of Pau in southwestern France is advancing its digital infrastructure with the construction of a new 1MW data center, backed by a €3 million ($3.4 million) investment. The facility, funded by the Pau Béarn Pyrénées Agglomeration (CAPBP), a coalition of 31 communes, will be operated by French data center company Axione. This project underscores a growing trend among regional governments in Europe to assert control over their data assets and reduce reliance on external providers.
According to CAPBP, the data center "will be a key component of the digital development of the Pau region," offering hosting services to government agencies and local businesses in the economy and digital sectors. The organization emphasized that the construction "reflects a desire to optimize the security of data, stored and controlled locally, and to ensure its sovereignty." This focus on local data control aligns with broader European efforts to enhance digital autonomy amid rising geopolitical tensions and regulatory scrutiny over data flows.
The new facility will replace a limited existing setup at Pau's town hall, which currently houses only 14 racks. The new data center, spanning 450 square meters (4,845 square feet), will accommodate up to 44 racks and feature free cooling technology, with a maximum power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.4. Construction is already underway, and the facility is expected to come online by October 2027. While Pau itself does not have a large data center market, the region recently saw TotalEnergies sign a contract with Dell Technologies and Nvidia to build a €100 million ($117.4 million) high-performance computing (HPC) system at the Jean Féger Scientific and Technical Center, signaling growing digital investment in the area.
The project reflects a strategic shift for mid-sized European cities, which are increasingly building their own data infrastructure to support local economic development and public sector digitization. By hosting data locally, Pau aims to improve service reliability and security for its citizens and businesses, while also fostering a more resilient digital ecosystem. The involvement of Axione, a regional operator, further highlights the role of specialized local providers in meeting the needs of municipal and regional clients.
Source: datacenterdynamics