SoftBank Northern France AI HyperCampus: 3.1GW Mega Hub
Status: Pre-construction / Site Engineering (Announced May 2026) | Location: Port of Dunkirk Western Harbour Zone, Loon-Plage, Hauts-de-France, France
Project Overview
Formally unveiled at the Choose France summit, this mega-scale AI infrastructure project represents one of Europe's most ambitious digital investments, combining advanced computing capacity with a localized industrial manufacturing ecosystem. Developed through a strategic partnership with Schneider Electric, the initiative integrates a state-of-the-art AI data center campus with nearby manufacturing facilities dedicated to producing critical electrical and power infrastructure components. This localized approach strengthens supply chain resilience, reduces deployment timelines, and supports France's objective of building sovereign AI capabilities while decreasing reliance on overseas suppliers. The multi-building campus is engineered to support high-density GPU clusters capable of training and deploying next-generation foundation models, large language models (LLMs), and other compute-intensive artificial intelligence applications. Designed with scalable power distribution, advanced liquid cooling technologies, and high-efficiency energy systems, the facility will accommodate future increases in rack densities and AI workloads. Beyond its technical capabilities, the development is expected to generate thousands of skilled jobs across engineering, manufacturing, construction, and digital services, reinforcing France's position as a leading European AI hub. By combining domestic manufacturing, resilient infrastructure, and hyperscale computing in a single integrated ecosystem, the project establishes a new benchmark for sustainable AI infrastructure development while accelerating Europe's competitiveness in the rapidly evolving global artificial intelligence landscape.
Quick Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Project Name | SoftBank Northern France AI HyperCampus: 3.1GW Mega Hub |
| Location | Port of Dunkirk Western Harbour Zone, Loon-Plage, Hauts-de-France, France |
| Status | Pre-construction / Site Engineering (Announced May 2026) |
| Commissioning | Q4 2031 (Phase 1 Operational Target) |
| Total IT Load | 800 MW |
| Total Capacity | 1,000 MW Dedicated Grid Allocation (Part of SoftBank's 3.1GW Phase 1 French Cluster) |
| Tier Level | Tier IV Architected (Fault-Tolerant Infrastructure Framework for Frontier LLMs) |
| Project Type | Greenfield AI Supercluster, Advanced Manufacturing Hub & Wholesale Hyperscale Site |
City Profile
| Header | Details |
|---|
| City Name | Dunkirk |
| Population | Approximately 86,000 |
| Urban Agglomeration | Approximately 255,000 |
| City GDP | Approximately USD 13 billion (estimated metropolitan economy) |
| Per Capita Income | Approximately USD 40,000 |
| City Tier | Tier 2 Industrial & Logistics Cityz |
| Key Strengths | Deep-water port, strategic North Sea location, steel manufacturing, renewable energy projects, logistics hub, cross-border connectivity to Belgium and the UK, expanding data center and AI infrastructure ecosystem. |
Companies Involved
| Header | Details |
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| Developer / Operator | SoftBank |
| Strategic Infrastructure Partner | Réseau de Transport d'Électricité (RTE), Port of Dunkirk Authority, Schneider Electric |
| Construction Contractor | Tier-1 Pan-European EPCM Engineering Consortium (To Be Finalized) |
| MEP Engineering | Schneider Electric Industrial Systems Division / Specialized Regional Consultants |
| Network Connectivity | Orange Business, Colt Technology Services, EXA Infrastructure long-haul backbone |
| Power Infrastructure | Direct extra-high-voltage connection tied straight to the regional nuclear transmission ring via a dedicated on-site RTE utility substation yard. |
Technical Specifications
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| Power Capacity | 1.0 Gigawatt (GW) initial active site substation capability |
| UPS Redundancy | 2N isolated block-redundant static UPS architecture coupled with utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for state grid balancing. |
| Cooling System | Closed-loop direct-to-chip liquid cooling integrated with high-efficiency localized secondary immersion configurations to handle high-density rack profiles. |
| Connectivity | Carrier-neutral gateway featuring hyper-fortified multi-duct fiber entries with direct multi-terabit low-latency links to transatlantic subsea cable landing points. |
| PUE Target | 1.15 |
| Energy Mix | 100% low-carbon energy baseline utilizing France's national nuclear baseload supply, supplemented by regional corporate offshore wind PPAs. |
Milestones
| Header | Details |
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| Announcement | May 2026 |
| Construction Start | Q3 2027 (Targeted site layout and structural groundwork) |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | Q4 2031 |
| Full Buildout | Q4 2033 (Realization of adjacent advanced electronics and containment assembly facilities) |
Investment Details
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|---|
| Total Investment | €15,000,000,000 (Estimated Dunkirk specific share of SoftBank’s €45B Phase 1 French allocation) |
| Funding | SoftBank corporate capital reserves, global sovereign investment syndications, and European green infrastructure credit lines. |