Ardian and Verne Plan Up to €5 Billion Data Center Campus in Île-de-France to Advance European Digital Sovereignty

Global private investment firm Ardian and its portfolio company Verne have announced plans to develop a large-scale digital infrastructure campus in the Île-de-France region of France, representing an investment of up to €5 billion. The project, unveiled at the Choose France conference, targets a total capacity of 500 MW and is designed to support artificial intelligence model training, high-performance computing, and advanced industrial applications.

A Flagship AI Campus for European Digital Infrastructure

The planned campus, located within what the firms describe as one of France's largest industrial hubs, targets a total IT capacity of 500 MW — including an initial phase of approximately 200-plus MW by 2030. The project is positioned to serve hyperscalers, research institutions, and major industrial users across the AI value chain, from computing power to applications in healthcare, finance, and energy.

The campus will house data center facilities dedicated to high-performance computing, AI model training, and advanced industrial applications. Ardian and Verne said the hub will rely on France's high-capacity energy infrastructure, powered by low-carbon electricity developed in close collaboration with RTE, the French transmission system operator, and the EDF Group. The site's exact address and parcel details have not been disclosed.

At a capital expenditure of up to €5 billion across the full build-out, the project reflects the high capital intensity associated with AI-grade data center development, which requires not only land and buildings but coordinated, large-scale energy infrastructure investment.

Ardian's Integrated Digital and Energy Infrastructure Strategy

The announcement reflects what Ardian describes as an integrated infrastructure strategy spanning digital, energy, and transport assets. The firm said it is separately committing up to €3 billion in new French energy infrastructure through other controlled platforms in its portfolio, including Akuo, a global renewable energy player, and GreenYellow, a French provider of decentralized renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions. That investment is intended to deliver 2.5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity to the French grid by 2030.

"Ardian's strategy of investing in both essential digital and energy infrastructure is aligned with the European needs to strengthen its strategic capabilities and accelerate its progress toward digital sovereignty," said Mathias Burghardt, Executive President of Ardian and CEO of Ardian France. "It perfectly demonstrates Ardian visionary approach by committing simultaneously €3bn in new renewable energy investment in France representing the same baseload consumption of new digital infrastructure development. By bringing together our industrial and financial knowledge with an ecosystem of leading French industrial partners, our ambition is to build a benchmark platform in the Île-de-France region gathering digital, industrial and research serving Europe."

Ardian currently manages or advises $200 billion for more than 1,920 clients worldwide across private equity, real assets, and credit, operating from 22 offices with more than 350 investment professionals globally.

Industrial Ecosystem and Policy Alignment

Ardian and Verne said the campus has been designed as a hub intended to gather an ecosystem of industrial, energy, technology, and academic partners. The site will be developed in close collaboration with government agencies, the Île-de-France region, local public entities, and major French industrial and financial groups, including the Bouygues Group and Crédit Agricole. The platform also aims to secure major technological, industrial, and academic partners during its rollout phase.

The hub is expected to be part of the sites supporting the AION Management's bid for a French Gigafactory under the European Union's AI Gigafactories initiative. Hundreds of direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created across the value chain, from construction through operations.

"This project marks a strategic milestone in Verne's development as a leading European platform for digital infrastructure dedicated to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing," said Dominic Ward and Roland Chedvili, CEO of Verne and Managing Director of Verne France, respectively. "It illustrates our ambition to establish infrastructure in France capable of meeting the needs of major European industrial and technology players. We are building competitive and sustainable European AI backbone of our economy."

Verne's Role and Low-Carbon Computing Expertise

Verne, a Nordic provider of low-carbon, high-density data centers backed by Ardian since 2024, will draw on its experience operating facilities in Northern Europe to design and operate the Île-de-France campus. The firm designs, develops, and operates scalable digital infrastructure supporting AI workloads for hyperscalers, neoclouds, and enterprises. Verne said the French platform will be tailored to demanding environmental requirements, consistent with its low-carbon operational model in the Nordics.

France's grid, characterized by a high share of nuclear and renewable generation, is cited by Ardian and Verne as central to the campus's design and location rationale, given the project's emphasis on low-carbon computing power.

Sources

Ardian Press Release: Ardian and Verne Announce Digital Infrastructure Hub in Île-de-France