Volt Partners with NorthC and Dell to Launch Dutch AI Cloud, Paving Way for Rotterdam AI Gigafactory

Dutch data center developer Volt has announced a collaboration with Dell Technologies and colocation provider NorthC to launch a new AI cloud platform, marking what the company describes as the first operational step toward building a massive AI gigafactory in Rotterdam. The initiative is part of a broader European effort to bolster sovereign AI infrastructure, backed by the European Commission’s €20 billion ($23 billion) program to construct AI-focused data centers across the continent.

The AI cloud, which Volt says will run entirely on Dutch infrastructure, is scheduled to go live in October 2026. It is designed to serve enterprises in sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and defense that require high-performance computing for AI workloads. Initially, the platform will operate from a NorthC data center in the Netherlands, with plans to eventually transfer capacity to Volt’s proposed AI gigafactory once it is built.

Han de Groot, founder and CEO of Volt, emphasized the strategic importance of the project. “AI is rapidly evolving from an experimental technology into a mission-critical production factor. Organizations need not only access to computing power but also control over the infrastructure on which their AI runs. With the Dutch AI Cloud, we are building a European alternative that gives organizations that certainty,” he said.

The platform will offer flexible purchasing options, including pay-as-you-go AI computing power by the hour, reserved GPU capacity for a fixed monthly fee, managed infrastructure services, and fully customized AI environments. Adrian McDonald, president for EMEA at Dell Technologies, noted that Europe’s AI competitiveness hinges on trusted infrastructure. “Our collaboration with Volt in the Netherlands is about building that foundation: integrated AI infrastructure for sovereign, high-performance workloads,” he said. “As AI moves from experimentation to production, organizations need more than compute—they need platforms that bring data, networking, cooling, software and services together as one system.”

Volt first unveiled its plans for the AI gigafactory in April. The facility is slated for a brownfield site at the Port of Rotterdam, which already has a high-voltage grid connection and could eventually be powered by offshore wind energy from the North Sea. The gigafactory is envisioned as a large-scale, energy-intensive hub for next-generation AI processing, aligning with the EC’s push to establish a resilient European AI ecosystem.

NorthC, formed in 2019 from the merger of Dutch data center firms TDCG and NLDC, operates more than a dozen facilities in the Netherlands, eight in Germany, and four in Switzerland, with additional sites under development in all three markets. The company was acquired by Antin Infrastructure Partners in December 2025. Alexandra Schless, CEO of NorthC, commented on the partnership: “Data centers are evolving from supporting infrastructure into a strategic utility for the digital economy. AI is accelerating that development. Through this collaboration, we are making an important contribution to the digital infrastructure on which the next generation of AI will be built.”