Google to invest €13bn in Finland AI expansion

Google said Wednesday it will invest at least 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in data centres and other digital infrastructure in Finland to support its artificial intelligence services, including Gemini.

The US technology company called the plan its biggest single investment in Europe. It said the investment also includes clean energy projects over the next two years and partnerships with Finnish companies and the municipalities of Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala.

Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called the investment historic for Finland and said it showed the country had invested in its power grid, electricity production and workforce.

Google has operated in Finland since buying a former paper mill in Hamina in 2009 and converting it into a data centre. Antti Jarvinen, Google's director for Finland, said the Hamina site has already been expanded seven times and currently has seven data centres.

Jarvinen said Google is now expanding in Hamina and opening data centre operations in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala. He said final numbers on how many new data centres will be built are expected in the coming months.

The construction phase is expected in 2027 and 2028. Google estimated the investment would boost Finland's gross domestic product by 3.6 billion euros annually and support more than 37,000 jobs, including about 16,000 in construction. After construction, Google said the operations would support about 7,000 direct and indirect jobs annually.

Finland has attracted data-centre investment because of its cool climate and relatively stable and cheap electricity from nuclear, wind and hydro power. The expansion has also raised concerns. Grid operator Fingrid has forecast a 40 percent increase in power consumption in coming years, and Finland's Security and Intelligence Service has warned that foreign-owned data centres could pose security risks.

Finnish utility Fortum said Wednesday it had signed a 22-year deal to supply power to Google. Fortum said the agreement would allow it to keep the Loviisa nuclear power plant operating until its licences expire in 2050. Fortum said the plant, which supplies about 10 percent of Finland's electricity, would not have been able to continue past 2030 without that financing.