Digital Realty has begun construction on a new data center at its campus in Glattbrugg, Switzerland, marking the latest expansion of what the company describes as the best-connected data center campus in the country.

The facility, designated ZUR4, will provide 15 megawatts of IT capacity across approximately 6,300 square meters of space and is expected to be completed in 2028.

A Fourth Building for Switzerland's Premier Campus

ZUR4 will join three existing facilities on the Glattbrugg campus, ZUR1, ZUR2, and ZUR3, forming an expanded cluster that Digital Realty says serves more than 200 customers on-site.

The company's global platform, PlatformDIGITAL, encompasses more than 300 data centers across more than 55 metros in more than 30 countries on six continents, and the Zurich (ZUR) campus is positioned as a gateway to that broader network for customers in Switzerland and the wider European region.

The new building has been designed to accommodate high-density deployments and artificial intelligence workloads. Digital Realty states that state-of-the-art cooling systems and an energy-efficient architecture will allow ZUR4 to meet what the company characterizes as the growing requirements of organizations working in AI and machine learning.

Like the rest of Digital Realty's European portfolio, ZUR4 is planned to operate on 100 percent renewable energy. The existing campus already carries a notable sustainability distinction: ZUR2 has received the first-ever PLATINUM Plus certification awarded by the Swiss Datacenter Efficiency Association, known as the SDEA, a milestone the company describes as significant for sustainable infrastructure and data center operations in Switzerland.

AI Demand and Data Sovereignty Drive the Investment

Digital Realty has framed the ZUR4 groundbreaking as part of a broader push across Europe to deliver infrastructure capable of supporting AI-driven workloads while addressing customer requirements around data location and digital sovereignty. The company cited ongoing construction at two other European sites, FRA20 in Frankfurt and VIE13 in Vienna, as part of the same strategic expansion.

Yves Zischek, Managing Director of Digital Realty in Austria and Switzerland, said the continued investments across the region reflect both the strategic importance of Europe and the rising demand for AI-optimized, data-sovereign, and sustainable digital infrastructure. He noted that the Glattbrugg campus expansion will connect more than 200 customers on-site and support the company's network of more than 6,000 customers worldwide.

ZUR4 is also intended to serve customers with specific data residency and resilience requirements, offering locally operated capacity within Switzerland's regulatory and infrastructure environment. Direct cloud connectivity is planned as a feature of the campus, extending access to Digital Realty's global interconnection ecosystem.

Swiss Political Figures Highlight Economic and Sovereignty Dimensions

The groundbreaking drew commentary from two Swiss political representatives, each emphasizing different aspects of the investment's significance for the country.

Barbara Franzen, a Member of the Cantonal Council representing the FDP party in Canton Zurich, said the expansion demonstrates how thoroughly digital infrastructure has become central to the cantonal economy.

She argued that investments of this scale not only secure jobs and innovative capacity but also strengthen what she called the digital self-determination of Zurich as a business location.

Nik Gugger, a Member of the National Council representing the EVP party and serving as President of the Swiss Cyber Security Days, described secure and locally anchored data infrastructure as crucial to Switzerland's digital future. He said ZUR4 would make an important contribution to Switzerland's digital sovereignty as well as to the innovative strength of Canton Zurich.

Technical Specifications and Campus Connectivity

The 6,300-square-meter facility will deliver 15 megawatts of IT capacity, with the technical design oriented toward high-density compute environments that AI and machine learning workloads typically require. Digital Realty has stated that the cooling systems and energy architecture are engineered to meet the demands of this type of deployment.

The campus as a whole offers what Digital Realty describes as outstanding connectivity options, and ZUR4's integration into the existing Glattbrugg site is expected to enhance those options further.

The campus functions as a node within PlatformDIGITAL, allowing customers to access Digital Realty's global network of interconnected data center facilities spanning six continents.

Broader European Expansion Context

The Switzerland groundbreaking is one of several recent moves by Digital Realty to extend its European footprint. In addition to the Frankfurt and Vienna projects referenced by Zischek, the company has been active in other markets across the continent.

Digital Realty describes itself as the world's largest cloud- and carrier-neutral data center platform, and its European buildout reflects the sustained capital investment the sector has seen as demand for AI infrastructure and cloud services continues to grow across the region.

Completion of ZUR4 remains targeted for 2028, at which point the Glattbrugg campus will operate four data center facilities under Digital Realty's management.

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