Ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the extension of the CC-IN2P3

Japan-France Workshop on Information Technology

20 February 2025

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Published by Nadine Locatelli on 24 February 2025

Extension of the CC-IN2P3

On 5 March 2025, the CC-IN2P3 laid the foundation stone for a new extension in Villeurbanne. Partially funded by the ESR/EquipEx+ programme, this initiative is one of the achievements of a larger project (FITS) also involving the CNRS Institute for Development and Resources in Scientific Computing (IDRIS) and GENCI.

The aim is to pool their expertise by offering data storage and processing services and server hosting for research infrastructures supported by the CNRS.

Alongside the director of the ICC-IN2P3, the foundation stone was laid in the presence of the management of CNRS Nuclear & Particles (National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics), the CNRS regional delegation in Rhône Auvergne, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and the construction teams (Cap Ingelec, Tourret Architectures, GCC, APL). It symbolises the start of construction and the culmination of many years of preparation.

Government investment for the scientific community

The project is being made possible thanks to government funding from the ESR/EquipEx+ programme, operated by the French National Research Agency. This initiative, part of the Future Investment Plan (PIA), aims to provide the scientific community with cutting-edge infrastructure. It finances the acquisition, modernisation and sharing of strategic equipment, accessible to both researchers and partner companies. One aspect of the programme supports the digital transformation of research, in particular by supporting the development of data centres, data storage solutions and advanced digital services. It also encourages the application of FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) for better management and dissemination of scientific data. With this extension, research infrastructures will be able to access data storage and processing capacities via an adapted pricing structure, which will also cover the costs of operating and renewing the infrastructures, thus ensuring their sustainability.

By meeting the ESR/EquipEx+ objectives for 2020, the CC-IN2P3 is affirming its central role in research data management.

Digital growth and energy management

With the exponential growth of data generated by research infrastructures, energy management is imperative. But it can only be achieved with real investment.

The CC-IN2P3 has opted for an energy-optimised, reliable and high-performance configuration. The extension has three levels covering 550 m², including 460 m² of machine room space. It will enable the machines from the CC-IN2P3’s historic machine room to be housed to the highest standards and will double the overall hosting capacity (132 racks at 15 KVA).

The building will be inaugurated and the new infrastructure will be commissioned in 2026.

This work has received government funding managed by the French National Research Agency under the Investments for the Future Programme, reference ANR-21-ESRE-0009.