Google will invest €13 billion in Finland over the next two years to expand artificial-intelligence infrastructure, the company said this week, marking its largest single investment in Europe and supporting new data centres, energy projects and construction activity across the country.
The investment will fund three new data centres in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala in northern Finland, along with an expansion of Google’s existing facility in Hamina in the southeast. The company said the sites were selected because they are close to existing electricity-grid infrastructure and carbon-free energy sources.
“ This is Google’s largest single investment in Europe and a testament to Finland’s leadership in responsibly building AI infrastructure,” the company said in a statement. Google said the programme would also include support for energy projects needed to power the facilities.
Finland’s climate and energy mix are central to the investment. The country has a relatively cold climate, which can reduce the energy required for cooling data centres. Around 96% of Finland’s electricity is produced from nuclear or renewable sources, according to the information released with the announcement.
The planned facilities are also being designed with heat recovery in mind. Heat generated by data-centre servers could be captured for use in heating homes, according to information cited by Bloomberg. The country has also developed a closed-loop water system intended to reduce waste, an important consideration for facilities that require fresh water for operations and cooling.
Google has signed a 22-year agreement with Finland’s state-owned Fortum to purchase up to 50% of the electricity output from the Loviisa nuclear power plant. The company is also expanding its energy arrangements through wind-power agreements and plans to install a 94-megawatt battery system at the Kajaani site to help balance the electricity grid.
The construction phase is expected to support more than 37,000 jobs, including approximately 16,000 in construction, according to Google’s estimates. Once the facilities are completed, they are expected to support about 7,000 jobs, including positions with suppliers and local services.
Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo described the decision as evidence of the country’s economic and infrastructure strengths. The investment comes as Finland seeks to revive growth after weak demand, the collapse in trade with neighbouring Russia and fiscal tightening. The country’s unemployment rate has risen above 10%, the highest level in the European Union, according to the supplied report.
The expansion is also part of Alphabet’s wider effort to increase computing capacity for artificial-intelligence services. The company raised its capital-spending forecast in July to as much as $205 billion for the year as it competes with technology companies to expand AI infrastructure. Google’s Finnish projects will now proceed through the planned data-centre construction, existing-site expansion and associated energy investments over the next two years.
