Google revealed plans for a major investment in Finland’s artificial intelligence and data centre infrastructure, marking what the company described as its largest single investment in Europe. The investment package totals €13bn and encompasses the construction of three new data centres in Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala, alongside an expansion of an existing facility in Hamina. The commitment also includes support for energy projects designed to meet the growing power demands of AI services.
As a central component of the deal, Google signed a 22-year contract with Finnish utility Fortum to purchase up to half of the electricity generated by the Loviisa nuclear power plant. This long-term agreement provides financial certainty for the nuclear facility, which currently supplies roughly 10% of Finland’s electricity. Fortum indicated the arrangement would support its investment programme aimed at extending the plant’s operational lifespan and boosting its generating capacity.
Google stated the investment is expected to generate significant economic benefits, supporting more than 37,000 jobs during the construction phase and contributing an estimated €3.6bn annually to Finland’s GDP. Construction activities are scheduled for 2027 and 2028. The infrastructure investments will power various Google services and products, including the AI chatbot Gemini, Search, Maps, and YouTube. The company also pledged funding for clean energy projects and community initiatives focused on local biodiversity, education, research, and workforce development.
Finland has increasingly attracted data centre investments due to its favorable geographic and regulatory characteristics, including a cool climate that reduces cooling costs, abundant low-carbon energy sources, and a relatively uncongested power grid. The announcement follows a separate €1bn data centre investment by TikTok announced earlier in the week, underscoring growing interest in the country as technology companies compete to secure reliable power supplies amid surging demand from the AI sector. Google’s commitment reflects broader industry trends toward expanding computational capacity to support expanding AI service offerings globally.
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