Digital Realty Launches HER1 Hub with Schneider Electric
By Amber Jackson, Data Centre Magazine
April 8, 2025
Today marks the launch of HER1, a new data centre facility by Digital Realty that uses Schneider Electric’s prefabricated data centre solutions.
Based in Heraklion, Crete to establish a new digital gateway for Southern Europe, the work at HER1 seeks to reduce connectivity and infrastructure gaps within the region and enable the interconnection of international, regional and local subsea cables to better serve EMEA regions.
Using Schneider Electric’s prefabricated data centre solutions, Digital Realty hopes to meet the challenges of accelerating time-to-market and remote deployment within just 12 months, while adhering to strict resiliency and energy efficiency standards.
“Digital Realty’s substantial investment in our new Heraklion data centre highlights our dedication to establishing the Mediterranean as a global connectivity hub, connecting continents and enabling digital transformation,” shares Fabrice Coquio, SVP Digital Realty in France, upon the launch.
About HER1, an interconnectivity launchpad
Digital Realty hopes that HER1 will play a critical role in reducing Southern Europe’s digital connectivity and infrastructure gap. This will be achieved by enabling the interconnection of international, regional and local subsea cables, empowering cloud, telco and content delivery networks (CDNs) to better serve the surrounding regions.
As the first carrier-neutral facility on the island, HER one will work in tandem with fast-growing markets, including Athens, Barcelon
HER1 forms a central part of Digital Realty’s Mediterranean data centre platform and also works to establish Greece as a strategic connectivity hub for Southern and Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
As a global leader in energy management and automation, Schneider Electric has partnered with Digital Realty to deliver this new data centre.
Following a successful prefabricated data centre deployment at its Marseille 2 (MRS2) facility, Digital Realty leveraged a turnkey Tier III solution from Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Modular Data Center portfolio to overcome a host of challenges at HER1. They included requirements for accelerated speed-to-market with a target to become operational within twelve months – a record time – increased levels of energy efficiency and off-site production, testing and delivery due to HER1’s remote location in Crete.
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