Amsterdam-based AI cloud provider Nebius is planning a 240MW data center in Béthune, France.

As reported by Les Echos, the project will see the former Bridgestone tyre plant redeveloped and set to deliver capacity in phases.

According to Nebius CCO Tom Blackwell, the first phase of capacity is expected online by late summer, with half the data center up and running by the end of 2026.

The data center will span around 26,000 sqm (280,000 sq ft), and is expected to provide 30 full-time jobs. The company is currently advertising for a data center IT manager in the area.

Financial terms of the project were not disclosed, but it will be one of the largest data centers in the country. According to La Tribune, the only data center in France able to deliver more power is the Data4 park in Essonne, which is expected to offer 375MW by the end of 2026.

Speaking on the project, Blackwell said: "The choice of France came about quite naturally a few months ago. It's not a single event, but rather the entire public strategy we've observed over the past year, which clearly demonstrates that the country wants to build a unique AI infrastructure in Europe."

He added, regarding the chasm between the US' AI progress and wider Europe: "Can Europe fully catch up with the US? That might be difficult at this stage. Can Europe move much faster and significantly reduce its level of dependence by having a much larger infrastructure? The answer is yes."

Béthune is located in northern France in the Pas-de-Calais department. The majority of France's data centers are located around Paris, with a secondary hub in Lille.

Nasdaq-listed Nebius is a cloud provider focused on AI workloads. The firm was spun out from Yandex in 2024, offering access to GPUs across its presence in the US, the Middle East, and Europe. Microsoft and Meta are known customers.

Earlier this week, reports emerged that Nebius was also looking to develop a data center in Birmingham, Alabama.

As well as owning a data center in Mäntsälä, Finland, the company is currently leasing or set to lease capacity in the UK (London, in an Ark DC facility), France (Paris, Equinix), Israel (multiple locations, Mega Or), Iceland (Keflavik, Verne), and the US in New Jersey (Vineland, DataOne), and Missouri (Kansas City, Patmos).

The company is known to be targeting another large self-built development around Kansas City and another in Birmingham, Alabama.

Overall, the company is aiming for 2.5GW of contracted capacity by the end of this year.

Nebius has also released its Q4 2025 and full-year financial results today, February 12.

The company saw a full-year revenue of $529.8 million, a year-on-year growth of 479 percent, while that quarter brought in $227.7m. Total operating costs and expenses for the year were $462.2m, up 169 percent. Nebius spent some $4bn throughout 2025 on 'purchases of property and equipment.'