SoftBank Commits €75 Billion for 5 GW of French AI Data Centers
- Data Centers News
Marin Holt
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- 7 minutes read
- SoftBank will invest up to €75 billion ($87B) for 5 GW of AI data center capacity in France, announced May 30, 2026 at the Choose France summit.
- Phase 1: €45 billion for 3.1 GW across Dunkirk (Loon-Plage), Bosquel, and Bouchain in Hauts-de-France by 2031.
- EDF is converting its former Bouchain thermal power plant — with existing 400 kV grid connections — into a 400 MW SoftBank data center campus.
- RTE, France's transmission operator, has committed to supplying 'abundant, decarbonised electricity' from France's nuclear-heavy generation fleet.
- SoftBank and Schneider Electric will build a data center power module manufacturing cluster at the Port of Dunkirk.
- At 5 GW eventual scale, the French portfolio would consume an estimated 35–40 TWh/year — comparable to Belgium's residential demand.
SoftBank Group Corp. announced on May 30, 2026 that it will invest up to €75 billion (approximately $87 billion) to develop and operate 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France — the largest AI infrastructure commitment ever made on European soil. Phase 1, valued at €45 billion, will deliver 3.1 GW across three sites in the Hauts-de-France region by 2031: Dunkirk (Loon-Plage), Bosquel, and Bouchain.
The power architecture is the deal’s defining feature. EDF, France’s state-owned nuclear utility, is converting its former Bouchain thermal power plant — a site already wired to the national high-voltage transmission backbone — into a 400 MW data center campus for SoftBank. Rather than spending years securing fresh grid capacity, EDF packaged the brownfield site with its existing grid infrastructure and ran a competitive selection process to attract a developer. RTE, France’s transmission system operator, has committed to supplying “abundant, decarbonised electricity” across all three campuses, drawing on France’s nuclear-heavy generation mix. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said France’s status as “a major energy producer and exporter was absolutely decisive” in choosing it over rival European locations.
Power Infrastructure at the Centre
The Bouchain model is a template increasingly replicated across Europe: decommissioned thermal plant sites offer the one combination hyperscalers cannot build quickly — high-voltage substation connections, wide-load road access, and industrial land with planning precedent for heavy electrical loads. For France, it converts a coal-era liability into an AI-era asset without stranding grid investment. The Dunkirk and Bosquel sites follow a similar logic, each located in industrial corridors already served by 400 kV or 225 kV transmission infrastructure.
SoftBank will partner with Schneider Electric on a manufacturing cluster at the Port of Dunkirk to produce data center power modules locally — an attempt to shorten supply chains for the switchgear, UPS, and power distribution units that bottleneck large campus builds. The cluster will include a SoftBank-operated enclosure manufacturing facility and a Schneider-operated power module integration line.
Why It Matters
This deal reframes how Europe competes for AI infrastructure capital. France’s nuclear generation fleet — roughly 70% of domestic electricity production — offers something Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands cannot easily match: firm, low-carbon baseload at industrial scale without dependence on intermittent renewables or expensive long-duration storage. The RTE commitment signals that France’s grid policy is actively designed to attract large-load customers rather than manage them as a constraint. At 5 GW eventual scale, SoftBank’s French portfolio would consume roughly 35–40 TWh per year — comparable to Belgium’s entire residential electricity demand — making reliable, affordable baseload the non-negotiable prerequisite. The EDF brownfield model also demonstrates that Europe’s legacy power infrastructure, built for fossil generation, carries latent grid-connection value that can be unlocked for compute without new transmission construction.
Critical Perspective
The €75 billion headline figure demands scrutiny. SoftBank’s Vision Fund track record includes celebrated bets and high-profile write-downs; a commitment made at a head-of-state summit carries political theatrics alongside genuine capital intention. Phase 1’s €45 billion by 2031 is the binding number — and 3.1 GW over five years requires sustained construction, permitting, and equipment delivery at a pace Europe has rarely demonstrated for any single infrastructure program. The Bouchain plant conversion also involves asbestos abatement and civil works on a decommissioned industrial site; the 400 MW nameplate figure is a design target, not a contracted delivery date. On the power side, RTE’s “commitment” for abundant decarbonised electricity is a policy statement, not a signed capacity contract — the actual interconnection agreements, grid reinforcement timelines, and tariff terms will determine whether France’s nuclear advantage translates to operational megawatts at the data center fence.
Sources
- SoftBank Group Corp. Press Release
- Data Center Knowledge — SoftBank’s $85B France Bet Puts Power at Center of AI Race
- Fortune — SoftBank plans up to €75 billion investment in French AI data centers
