Offer · Time to Connect diagnostic

A data center can be built in two to three years; connecting a large site can take longer. We identify what actually sets your project's energisation date, what could make it slip, and what can still bring it forward.

You receive:

  • the project's four clocks: grid, equipment, permits, local context
  • the critical path, with the assumptions behind each date
  • realistic levers: phasing, interim solutions, choice of connection point
  • a summary for your committee, lender or client
or call us: +33 6 63 93 78 35

First conversation confidential and with no commitment. Fixed fees proposed in writing before any assignment. Best-efforts obligation.

The problem. The building is no longer the bottleneck. Chips change every year, modules are built in factories, but electricity arrives at the pace of the grid. An energisation date announced without a critical-path analysis is an assumption, not a schedule.

WHAT THE INDUSTRY SAYS

"The major issue is reducing Time to Connect, to connect data centers quickly to the 400 kV grid, through modular and replicable architectures."
Thierry Plouvier, President, Hitachi Energy France (translated)
"On the grid side, the main challenge is no longer building data centers, but supplying them with electricity fast enough."
Kasper Berggren, Hitachi Energy (translated)
"Grid connection times are stretching beyond five years for GW-scale AI factories."
Séverine Hanauer, Vertiv (translated)
"Access to connection capacity is today one of the main constraints on projects."
Fabien Laleuf, ABB France (translated)

The International Energy Agency puts it simply: a data center can be operational in two to three years, while the energy system needs longer to plan and build. Schneider Electric adds that medium-voltage switchgear has itself become a factor that can limit AI data center deployment.

A PROJECT'S FOUR CLOCKS

1. Grid connection

Study, PTF, agreement, RTE or Enedis works: often the longest. PTF request · offer review

2. Equipment

Power transformers, HV and MV switchgear: manufacturing lead times counted in years at major makers. Our lead time index

3. Permits

Building permit, environmental permits and, for large projects, the major national interest procedure. Planning and permits

4. Local context

Consultation, legal challenges, acceptance: a clock you do not control, but can anticipate. Local authorities

WHAT PREFABRICATION SHORTENS, AND WHAT IT DOES NOT

The industry is betting on prefabricated modules: according to a Schneider Electric study with Compass Datacenters, factory assembly could cut on-site installation time by 80%. The French government has asked Gimelec and France Datacenter for a report on prefabrication, expected in November 2026. That is a real gain on site. But a module delivered in a few months does not bring forward the date RTE or Enedis can supply the power, nor the permitting. Hitachi Energy mentions mobile substations, deployed in capacity steps until permanent lines are ready: an option to examine project by project. See modular data centers and grid timelines.

WHAT WE DO

We rebuild your project's critical path from the actual documents: connection offer, equipment orders, permit status, local context. We tell you which clock sets the date, what could make it slip and which levers are realistic. With Xavier Watrelos for grid and equipment, and network experts as the file requires. Best-efforts obligation: only RTE and Enedis commit to capacity and a date.

HOW IT WORKS

A first conversation. You describe the project and the decision at stake. We tell you whether we can help, and who will be involved.
A confidentiality agreement. Signed before you send us any document.
A written, fixed-fee proposal. Scope, deliverables, timeline and fees set in advance: no open-ended time-based billing.
The assignment and debrief. A written deliverable, a debrief session, and the questions to put to the grid operator or your partners.

WHAT WE COMMIT TO

Recent assignments

Review of connection documents and the announced energisation date for a European data center developer, ahead of its investment decision. Audit of high-voltage equipment sourcing for a petrochemical group.

Independence

We do not design, build or sell equipment. No commission, no brokerage. Never on both sides of the same project.

Framework

Confidentiality agreement before any document. Professional liability insurance. Best-efforts obligation: only RTE and Enedis commit to capacity and a date.

DESCRIBE YOUR SITUATION

A few lines are enough: the project, the document or decision at stake, and your deadline. We come back to you to set up a first conversation.

First conversation confidential and with no commitment. Fixed fees proposed in writing before any assignment. Best-efforts obligation.

Sources: J3e no. 929, October 2026, "AI, an infrastructure revolution" (interviews and contributions from Hitachi Energy, Vertiv, ABB, Schneider Electric), in French; International Energy Agency, as cited by J3e.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Time to Connect?

The time between the investment decision and actual energisation of a data center. It depends on grid connection, long-lead equipment, permits and local context, most often on grid connection.

Does prefabrication shorten grid connection time?

No. It shortens on-site construction, sometimes sharply, but not the time the grid operator needs to supply the power, nor permitting.