Orange entrusts APL with the design and construction of a 5,000 m² Tier IV data center, cooled by direct air free cooling.

Published on May 27, 2026 -

In 2009, Orange launched a project to build a brand new data center to meet the evolving data storage needs of its customers over the next 10 to 20 years.

Client company

Orange

Industry

Telecom

Type of support

Audit & conseil - Assistance à maîtrise d’ouvrage - Maîtrise d’œuvre

Type of service

Conception et réalisation d’un data center en Tier IV, refroidi en free cooling direct air - Assistance à l’exploitation

Context and objectives of the assignment

The telecom operator then commissioned APL to study and build this 5,000 m² IT hub, with a very high level of service continuity and energy performance.

Named "Normandie" and located in Val-de-Reuil (Eure), this data center includes 4 IT rooms and their technical premises. It was the first site in France to benefit from direct air free cooling.

Design a new 5,000 m² data center, modular and adaptable, housing 4 IT rooms of 1,200 m².
Ensure very high availability of the site (Tier IV): 24/7 operation, without service interruption.
Guarantee a low environmental impact and control energy consumption.
Construct IT rooms 1 and 2 with project owner assistance.
Construct IT rooms 3 and 4 with project management.

Completed assignments

IT Rooms 1 and 2 (2009 to 2012)

Support during the design of a dual-building site, housing 4 IT rooms operating in independent pairs.
Programming, assistance with consultation and selection of project managers, supervision of execution.

IT Rooms 3 and 4 (2013 to 2015)

Project management, site monitoring and steering for all technical lots.

Operational assistance

To guarantee service continuity and energy performance, a comprehensive operating guide was drafted to help technical teams take over and operate the new data center according to best practices.

Client benefits

Comprehensive support from APL, from feasibility study to acceptance.
Site with very high service continuity: 3 days of autonomous operation in case of redundant power supply failure.
HPE (high energy performance) site: free cooling (outdoor fresh air) for installations, backed up by cooling production solutions above 21°C.
Scalability of installations to absorb increased load: IT room power of 2 MW, upgradable to 2.5 MW.

Our solutions for

APL Data Center designs and optimizes critical infrastructures capable of meeting the major challenges of the digital age: data security, service continuity, scalability, cost control and sustainability.
Through a global approach integrating innovation and CSR, we support every type of client in creating next-generation data centers tailored to their uses and constraints.

Hyperscaler

On the scale of major cloud operators, APL Data Center designs and deploys infrastructures built for performance, resilience and energy efficiency, to support the global rise of cloud and AI and to build the responsible data centers of tomorrow.

Colocation

Faced with the challenges of availability and proximity of digital services, APL Data Center supports hosting providers in creating modular, secure, and scalable data centers. Designed infrastructures meet the needs of distributed cloud and edge architectures.

Company

To support the digital transformation of organizations, APL Data Center designs and optimizes reliable, scalable, and sustainable data centers. These sovereign infrastructures meet the performance, security, and compliance requirements of businesses.

Public sector

Serving public sector actors, APL Data Center designs secure, compliant, and eco-efficient data centers that meet regulatory requirements and digital sovereignty challenges while guaranteeing service continuity.