Colt DCS has broken ground on its second data center in France.

The facility, Colt Paris 2, is the first of three data centers planned for a 12.5 acre site in Villebon-sur-Yvette, southwest of Paris.

It is part of a €2.3 billion ($2.58bn) investment in French infrastructure, which will see five data centers constructed by 2031, bring Colt’s IT capacity in France to 170MW.

Colt Paris 2 is being designed to meet the needs of the company’s enterprise and hyperscale customers. It will offer 40MW total capacity, with more than 100kW per cabinet.

Powered by 100 percent renewable energy, the data center will take a hybrid approach to cooling, combining traditional air cooling with liquid-to-chip technology.

According to Colt, zero water waste will result from the cooling process, and the facility

has been designed to recover waste heat for use by the local community.

Niclas Sanfridsson, CEO of Colt DCS, said: “Breaking ground at Colt Paris 2 is the exciting next step in our long-term commitment to France and its thriving digital economy.

“This project not only implements our innovative new design, but it also demonstrates our dedication to sustainable growth and innovation. By investing in renewable energy contracts and supporting the local community through waste heat reuse, we are helping to fulfil the growing demand for cloud and AI services while setting new standards for environmental responsibility.”

The scheme will create 300 construction jobs and 100 permanent data center-related roles, Colt said.

Colt already has one data center in Paris, in the suburb of Les Ulis, which offers 24MW. Two additional data centres, Colt Paris 5 and 6, are also scheduled for construction on a new site in Les Ulis.

Spun off from Colt Technology Services in 2015, Colt DCS’s data center portfolio includes 13 operational facilties, with an additional nine in development across 11 cities in the UK, Europe, and the APAC region.