Independent data center consulting firm · Expert network · France & EuropeTHE GRID IS CONGESTED.
THE EQUIPMENT IS SCARCE.
THE PUBLIC PUSHES BACK.
Compute ordered ≠ compute installed.
WHO IT'S FOR
→ Data center developers & infrastructure funds facing grid connection uncertainty
→ Industrial procurement leaders securing existing plants
→ Utilities & energy developers building BESS, grid-scale storage
→ EPC contractors & electrical integrators who need experts on long assignments
→ Lenders, infrastructure funds & private credit who need an independent review before committing capital
→ Any project facing a suspended permit, public opposition, or a data center crisis management situation
→ Municipalities and public bodies hosting a data center project
GridReadiness tracks the grid, the equipment, and the public acceptance risk — the three physical bottlenecks behind the AI buildout, globally.
See the full France case study below.
Recent inquiries from the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil, alongside our ongoing France practice.
Who we are
AN INDEPENDENT DATA CENTER CONSULTING FIRM, 360°
GridReadiness is an independent data center consulting firm, built on a network of independent experts and covering every angle of a project. The first network of independent data center experts in France, GridReadiness supports developers, operators, EPC contractors and integrators, investors, lenders and public bodies through a single point of contact.
Who we work for: landowners & property developers · operators · investors & lenders · local authorities · EPC contractors & integrators
- → Market intelligence
- → Grid connection audits
- → Equipment audits
- → Electrical & standards audits
- → Readiness Manager: independent project coordination
- → Regulatory compliance
- → Lender & investor due diligence
- → Support for elected officials & public bodies
- → Crisis management
- → Battery storage (BESS) projects
- → Expert staffing for long assignments
Recent missions
Grid connection timeline review for a European data center developer: independent analysis of the connection documents and of the announced energisation date.
Equipment sourcing audit for a petrochemical group: review of suppliers, manufacturing lead times and supply risks to the project schedule.
Our rule: never, on the same project, for both the developer and the host community, and no commission on equipment or site transactions. If one of our experts is on assignment with a developer or an EPC contractor, we do not carry out the due diligence of that project for a lender, nor support the host community on it. Who we are · The expert network
Who we work with
Case Study — France, the sharpest example we track
What we do
FROM MARKET SIGNAL
TO SITE-LEVEL CERTAINTY
Monthly equipment lead-time & pricing tracker, built around your needs.
Subscription · Monthly briefA written verdict on one specific equipment or market question.
Report · 2–3 weeks deliveryOn-site inventory and real supplier lead times for a specific project.
Consulting · Scoped per projectIndependent assessment of French brownfield sites and of the equipment plan behind them.
Advisory · Fixed fees, scoped per missionSee full details on all 4 tiers →
Three ways we track the AI buildout's physical bottlenecks
Wherever AI demand is landing — a grid connection queue, an equipment order book, a public opposition case — the same physical bottleneck shows up. We track it three ways:
Grid Connection Intelligence
Where the capacity is, region by region
Real connection delays and brownfield sites, tracked region by region. Live coverage: France — more regions being added as we validate demand.
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Equipment Intelligence by Industry
Where your equipment stands, worldwide
Transformer, generator, switchgear and battery lead times, broken down by the industry buying them — chemical, pharma, automotive and more, anywhere in the world.
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Data Center Crisis Management
A suspended permit isn't a closed file
Public opposition, impact studies, suspended permits — data center crisis management before, during and after. Rovaltain: €1.5bn suspended in 48h. France-focused, with worldwide special mandates on request.
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Expert network
ONE CONTACT. THE RIGHT EXPERTS.
Independent specialists in ten fields, coordinated by GridReadiness: from grid connection to permits, crisis management and financing.
Frédéric Arnaud
Founder & network coordinator
Former financial auditor (PwC) and management consultant (Celerant, Hitachi Consulting), then managing director of an industrial SME for six years and serial entrepreneur. Single point of contact for clients: scopes each mission and brings in the right experts.
Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, France Read the profile →
Xavier Watrelos
HV grid connection, industrial projects & owner's representation
Engineer (INSA Strasbourg). 20+ years of industrial projects from €5m to €100m, including HV and MV (HTB/HTA) grid connections: utilities, commissioning, operating permits with public inquiry. Saint-Gobain, Lactalis, Euroglas.
Est de la France Read the profile →
Geoffrey Garriga
Energy compliance, building services & BACS
Building services and energy engineer, 15+ years in design and project management: tertiary decree and OPERAT, regulatory energy audits, BACS decree and building automation, HVAC and electrical design through to handover.
Sud-Est de la France Read the profile →
Blandine Cazelles
Crisis communication, public affairs & influence strategy
Founder of CriseHelp. Former head of communications of a La Poste regional division (10 years), chief of staff at the French Senate (2017–2020), municipal councillor for 12 years. IHEDN graduate.
France Read the profile →For lenders & funds
COMPUTE ORDERED IS NOT
COMPUTE INSTALLED.
Capital is committed on day one. Revenue starts at energisation. In between: a grid connection, high-voltage equipment and permits. We give lenders, infrastructure funds and private credit an independent view of those three risks before they commit capital, in France and across Europe.
Where the delivery gap opens
Indicative ranges from GridReadiness market tracking, 2026. Each gate must clear before capacity earns revenue.
About
Frédéric Arnaud
Founder · GridReadiness
Frédéric Arnaud founded and coordinates GridReadiness. He began his career in financial audit at PwC, then in industrial performance consulting at Celerant Consulting (Hitachi Consulting) for major European groups. He then spent fifteen years in general management: founder and CEO of a regulated services company that he grew into a structured organisation, and managing director of an industrial SME for six years. A NEOMA Business School graduate.
That background shapes the firm: reading a data center project as an industrial and financial operation, where the grid connection, the equipment, the permits and local acceptance decide the real timeline. He is the client's single point of contact, scopes each mission and brings in the right experts.
Intelligence Library
LATEST ARTICLES
★ Flagship analysis · Lenders & developers
Compute ordered is not compute installed.
The banks now agree.
Jefferies, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs now measure the gap between chips sold and data centers delivered.
September 2026 · 8 min read
Read the analysis →
Case study · France
Béthune: the building took ten months, the grid will take three years
September 2026 · 6 min
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Data centers and batteries: over 30 GW for one grid queue
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Grid connection · Europe
Grid queue reform in Europe: how France compares
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Lenders · Research
Financing the AI buildout: execution risk is the lender's blind spot
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EU regulation
The EU A–G rating: what it means for developers and lenders
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Grid connection · Enedis
20–30 MW data centers in France: the 40 MW threshold
September 2026 · 7 min