Google has announced a record 13 billion euro investment in Finland, marking its largest single investment in Europe. The funding will be used to build three new data centers, expand an existing facility, and support energy projects aimed at powering the growing demand for artificial intelligence services.
As part of the significant investment, Google has 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 agreement will provide long-term financial certainty for the plant, which currently produces approximately 10% of Finland's electricity. Fortum stated that Google's commitment will support an investment program to extend the nuclear station's life and enhance its generating capacity.
Google's investment package is also expected to contribute to the development of its AI chatbot Gemini, alongside existing services such as Search, Maps, and YouTube. The company indicated that the investment includes clean energy projects and funds for local biodiversity, education, research, and workforce development.
Finland has become an attractive location for data centers due to its cool climate, which reduces cooling costs, ample low-carbon electricity, and a relatively uncongested power grid. This advantage has been highlighted by other tech companies, including TikTok, which recently announced a $1 billion investment in Finland for a new data center, citing the country's strong digital infrastructure, clean energy, robust data governance, and skilled tech talent.
According to Google, the investment is projected to support over 37,000 jobs during the construction phase and increase Finland's GDP by 3.6 billion euros annually. Construction is slated to occur in 2027 and 2028. Google's parent company, Alphabet, has previously raised its global spending plans to as much as $205 billion to expand computing capacity for AI services.