Digital Realty has officially announced plans for a new data center in Marseille, France.
To be located on the site of an old sugar silo at the Marseille-Fos Port, MRS5 will offer 22MW across 12,000 sqm (129,165 sq ft) of white space.
The first phase is due to go live in 2026. The company said the site will operate with a PUE of 1.3.
The silo dates back to the 1960s but has been abandoned since 2015. The Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM) first called for expressions of interest in the AMI Sugar Silo back in December 2021. The vacant complex includes a 3,600 sqm storage building, weighing tower, truck delivery dock, and conveyor belt transfer equipment.
Asbestos is present at the site, and Digital is working with local company Ecolex to remove it as part of the demolition work.
Reports that Digital Realty had won the tender to acquire the land and planned to build a data center there first surfaced in June. A number of data center developers, including Telehouse, were reportedly also seeking to develop on the site.
Digital Realty – then Interxion – arrived in Marseille in 2014 by taking over a data center from SFR. That site, since renamed MRS1, is located close to the port.
The company operates a number of other data centers in Marseille, with MRS2, 3, and 4 all within 500m of the new site. MRS3, opened in 2020, is located in a former WWII submarine base. MRS4, located nearby, launched in late 2022. The three facilities all utilize river cooling.
During its Q3 2023 earnings call, Digital also announced it had acquired approximately 27 acres near Marseille for €47 million ($49m) for a sixth facility in the French city. The planned data center, MRS6, will be able to offer 50MW to cloud providers.
