en.Wedoany.com Reported - European data center operator Data4 plans to invest €5 billion to build a 700-megawatt data center campus in Escaudain, northern France. Located on the former industrial site Parc des Soufflantes, this will become Data4's largest single campus in France, aiming to meet the rapidly growing demand for cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Europe.
Spanning 33 hectares, the campus will deploy four next-generation data centers over the coming years, ultimately supporting 700 megawatts of IT load capacity. Data4 stated that feasibility studies completed with local stakeholders confirmed the site can support the construction of a large-scale digital infrastructure hub. The company was selected as the exclusive partner for the site's redevelopment six months ago.
The choice of Escaudain is based on its geographical advantages: the location is adjacent to Europe's main data exchange axis connecting Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and Paris, which is significant for latency-sensitive workloads and cross-border cloud deployments. France's relatively low-carbon electricity mix also provides a commercial advantage for data center operators offering sustainability certifications to enterprise customers.
Data4 expects the campus to create approximately 2,400 permanent jobs once fully operational. Through the Data4All Center of Excellence, the company plans to collaborate with local schools and institutions on training, research, and entrepreneurship programs to cultivate a regional skills pipeline. Heat recovery and low-carbon concrete technologies are included in the campus's sustainability plan.
The Escaudain project is part of Data4's broader European expansion strategy. The company currently operates ten campuses across six countries and plans to invest over €20 billion in Europe by 2030. Data4 draws parallels between this project and its previous transformation of former Alcatel and Nokia factory sites near Paris into a 500-megawatt data center hub, serving as a template for repurposing former industrial land into digital infrastructure.
For enterprise infrastructure buyers, this project could expand hosting options for European AI and cloud workloads, particularly in scenarios where latency, data residency, and low-carbon electricity influence procurement decisions. Key operational risks center on power delivery: a 700-megawatt campus depends on grid capacity, substations, energy contracts, backup systems, and public tolerance aligning over several years. Local physical infrastructure can partially improve European digital sovereignty, but full sovereignty also depends on factors such as cloud platforms, chips, software control, model ownership, and regulatory enforcement.
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