The Thésée Datacenter project has gained backers for its plan to open a campus in Aubergenville (Yvelines), near Paris, containing up to six data centers.

The group plans to launch one facility with 1,000 sq m (11,000 sq ft) of white space, 40km north-west of Paris, by the end of March 2021, and has promised to get its data centers Uptime certified to at least Tier IV Design level. It now has backers, with Banque des Territoires and Idec buying nearly a quarter of the business each.

First Tier IV

Right now, France has no Tier IV neutral colocation data centers, though some have been certified to Tier III by the Uptime Institute. The costs of certification are high, but Eric Arbaretaz, co-founder and technical director of Thésée Datacenter says this is changing: "The question of control and security of data managed in France has become vital,” [translated] he told Channel Business Partners.

The two new investors are French financial institutions: Banque des Territoires and the Idec Group have each taken a 24.9 percent stake in the projects. Another six mutual French banks are also backing the projects.

According to its website, Thésée Datacenter has a three hectare site which can house six independent buildings of 1,000 sq m each. The first will include one such data center, with two 500 sq m halls. It will support a power density of up to 20kW per rack, with power density that can be increased up to that figure by adding energy modules after commissioning. Capacity will be offered from a few bays, a suite (or cage), or a room (half a hall or a whole hall 250 or 500 sq m).

The data center will use indirect free cooling, for a PUE (power usage effectiveness) of 1.15.