Google has announced a €13 billion investment in Finland that combines a major expansion of its European computing capacity with a long-term nuclear electricity contract. The package is intended to support rising demand for artificial-intelligence services while giving the company a large, predictable source of low-carbon power.
The company plans to build data centres in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala and expand its existing Hamina facility, according to the BBC. Google established the Hamina site in a converted paper mill in 2009. Construction on the new programme is scheduled for 2027 and 2028.
At the centre of the energy arrangement is a 22-year power-purchase agreement with Finnish utility Fortum. Google will buy up to 50% of the electricity generated by the Loviisa nuclear power station, which currently supplies roughly a tenth of Finland’s electricity. Fortum said the commitment would add financial certainty to an investment programme aimed at extending the plant’s operating life and increasing its output.
The scale of the announcement reflects the electricity challenge facing the technology industry. AI systems require extensive computing infrastructure, and operators are seeking generation that can support data centres continuously. Finland offers a relatively uncongested grid, a cool climate that can reduce server-cooling needs and a power mix with substantial low-carbon generation.
Google said the infrastructure will support products including Gemini, Search, Maps and YouTube. The investment also covers clean-energy projects and funds for biodiversity, education, research and workforce development. The company estimates that construction will support more than 37,000 jobs and that the programme could add €3.6 billion annually to Finnish gross domestic product. Those projections are company estimates rather than independently measured outcomes.
The announcement follows TikTok’s plan to spend $1 billion on a data centre in Kouvola, underscoring Finland’s growing role as a location for large computing facilities. It also comes as Alphabet has raised its worldwide capital-spending plans to as much as $205 billion to expand AI capacity.
For Finland, the package links industrial investment to an established nuclear asset. For Google, it ties a significant European expansion to power availability for more than two decades. The success of the plan will depend on delivering the proposed sites, grid improvements and energy investments on schedule, but the agreement already illustrates how access to electricity is becoming a defining constraint on AI infrastructure.
The agreement also gives Fortum a large corporate buyer as it plans improvements to an existing generation site, connecting data-centre growth to investment in Finland’s wider electricity system.
