Google to invest €13 billion in Finland to expand AI data centers and energy partnerships

Google said Wednesday it will invest 13 billion euros ($14.6 billion) in Finland over the next two years to expand AI-related digital infrastructure, clean energy and local partnerships, marking a major increase in its Nordic data center footprint.

In a company blog post published Sept. 9, Bikash Koley, Google’s vice president for global infrastructure, said the spending will be tied to Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala. Google described the commitment as “our largest single investment in Europe,” a characterization made in the company’s own announcement.

Google also projected a broad economic effect from the buildout. The company said the program will support more than 37,000 jobs nationwide during the initial construction phase in 2027 and 2028 and contribute 3.6 billion euros annually to Finland’s gross domestic product. Those figures are Google’s projections and were not immediately independently confirmed.

“Google is deepening its commitment to Finland with a €13 billion investment in digital infrastructure, clean energy, and local partnerships. This investment will support thousands of jobs and help fund regional environmental projects across the country,” Koley wrote.

A central part of the plan is energy. Google said it will sign a 22-year agreement to support the life extension of the Loviisa nuclear power plant, add new onshore wind capacity and use a contracted 94-megawatt battery system to help stabilize prices during cold and low-wind periods. The company presented those measures as part of the power strategy for its expanded Finnish operations; full outside confirmation of those arrangements was not immediately available. If completed as described, the nuclear tie-up would connect Google’s expansion to one of Finland’s established low-carbon power sources. The Loviisa plant is operated by Fortum, and Finland’s government granted it an operating license through 2050 in 2023.

Google said it will also spend 31 million euros over four years in local communities in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala. That includes AI upskilling for more than 4,400 workers, new training opportunities for 100 Finnish students interested in data center careers, and funding for projects to regenerate native forests and wetlands near its sites.

The announcement builds on a long-running presence in Finland rather than opening a new market. Google’s official data center materials say it bought the former Summa paper mill site in Hamina in 2009, opened its first Hamina data center in 2011 and has invested 3.5 billion euros there to date. “Since we converted a former paper mill in Hamina into a data center 15 years ago, Finland has been a vital hub for Google,” Koley wrote.

Google’s northern expansion had already been taking shape before Wednesday’s announcement. In November 2024, the Finnish government said state land agency Metsähallitus had permission to sell about 1,400 hectares of land in Muhos and Kajaani to Google for more than 27 million euros. Google’s project page for Muhos now lists that campus as “In development” and says construction began there in 2026.

Finland has long appealed to large data center operators because its cool climate can reduce cooling needs and its power system offers relatively low-carbon electricity. That helps explain why Google is pairing its latest AI infrastructure push with long-term energy deals, even as several of the key investment details, economic projections and power commitments currently rest on Google’s own announcement.