Google announces largest-ever European investment in Finnish AI infrastructure

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Google announced a €13 billion ($15.1 billion) plan to build AI data centers across four Finnish sites, its largest single investment in Europe. The 2027-2028 construction phase covers new campuses in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala.

The deal is really about electricity. Google signed a 22-year agreement to buy up to half the output of Finland's Loviisa nuclear plant, funding life extension past 2030 and adding wind and battery capacity. Finland's security service has warned that foreign-owned data centers carry growing security risks.

Why it matters

Google is locking up nuclear and wind power for AI data centers, reshaping Finland's energy grid and setting a template for hyperscaler electricity deals.

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Key Indicators

$15.1B

Google's announced investment

Largest single investment Google has made in Europe; covers 2027-2028 construction.

37,000

Jobs supported during construction

Estimated nationwide jobs in the build phase, including 16,000 in construction.

50%

Loviisa nuclear output under contract

Google will buy up to half the plant's electricity for 22 years.

629 MW

New onshore wind capacity

Wind power from Valorem and Suomen Hyötytuuli that Google's agreements bring to the grid.

€3.6B per year

Expected GDP contribution

Annual contribution to Finland's GDP during the construction phase.

Voices

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People Involved

Sundar Pichai

Chief executive of Alphabet and Google

Oversees Google's largest single European investment

Organizations Involved

Google

Technology company

Investor — announced €13 billion Finnish AI infrastructure plan

Announced its largest single European investment in Finnish AI infrastructure.

Fortum

Energy utility

Partner — operates Finland's Loviisa nuclear plant

Finnish energy company that signed the 22-year power purchase agreement with Google.

Fingrid

State-owned transmission system operator

Partner — helping identify grid-friendly data center locations

Finland's national power grid operator, partnering with Google and Business Finland on data center siting.

Finland's Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO)

Government intelligence agency

Raised security concerns about foreign-owned data centers

Finland's domestic security agency, which warned municipalities about risks from foreign-owned data centers.

Business Finland

Government innovation agency

Partner — working with Google and Fingrid on site selection

Finnish government agency supporting Google's infrastructure decisions.

Timeline

2 events Latest: Yesterday

September 2026
Google announces €13 billion Finnish AI infrastructure plan
Latest Announcement

Google unveils its largest single European investment: four data center sites, a 22-year nuclear power agreement with Fortum, wind PPAs, and a 94 MW battery near Kajaani.
Yesterday
Finland's security service warns on foreign data centers
Security warning

SUPO says municipalities risk weighing economic benefits over security concerns from foreign-owned data centers, including chip export circumvention risks.
Yesterday

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2016-2020

Meta builds Nordic data centers in Odense, Denmark (2016-2020)

Facebook (now Meta) built three data centers in Odense, Denmark — drawn by cheap wind power and a cold climate that cut cooling costs — investing more than €2 billion.

Then

Established Denmark as a Nordic data center hub.

Now

Validated the Nordic model — clean energy plus cool climate — that Google's Finland expansion now scales.

Why this matters now

Google's four-site Finland build is the same playbook at much larger scale.

March 2024

Amazon buys a nuclear-powered data center (2024)

Amazon paid $650 million to buy Talen Energy's Cumulus data center campus in Pennsylvania, with power supplied by the nearby Susquehanna nuclear plant under a 480-megawatt agreement.

Then

Amazon became the first major tech company to tie nuclear power directly to its data center operations.

Now

Set the template Google's Finland deal now follows: hyperscalers securing nuclear supply to power AI workloads.

Why this matters now

Google's Fortum agreement is the second major nuclear-for-AI deal, showing the pattern is becoming standard.

2010s

Ireland's data center boom strains its grid (2010s)

Data centers grew rapidly in Ireland, consuming roughly a fifth of the country's electricity by the 2020s. Grid operator EirGrid halted new connections near Dublin, capping further growth.

Then

Ireland kept some grid headroom but capped data center expansion.

Now

Became the cautionary example of what concentrated data center demand does to a small national grid.

Why this matters now

Finland's abundant hydro and nuclear power, plus locating centers in the energy-rich north, may avoid Ireland's grid crunch — though SUPO's security warnings raise a separate concern.