Google is committing at least 13 billion euro (USD 15.1 billion) to artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure in Finland over the next two years, making it the technology company’s largest single investment in Europe as it races to expand computing capacity for AI.
The investment, covering 2027 and 2028, will expand Google’s data-centre footprint and supporting infrastructure in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala. The company said the facilities will help meet growing demand for services including Gemini, Search, Maps and YouTube.
The scale of the commitment underlines the growing importance of electricity, land and cooling capacity to the global AI build-out. Google’s choice of Finland reflects the country’s combination of a relatively cool climate, a largely decarbonised electricity system, established industrial infrastructure and access to renewable and nuclear power.
Finland’s northern climate is particularly useful for data centres, where cooling increasingly represents a significant operational requirement as computing workloads become more energy-intensive. Google’s existing Hamina facility uses seawater from the Gulf of Finland for cooling and has also been designed to recover waste heat for use by the surrounding community.
Google has had a presence in Finland for more than 15 years. In 2009, it bought a former paper mill in Hamina and converted the site into a data centre. The facility has subsequently expanded through several phases and now forms part of Google’s global network of cloud regions.
The new investment will take that relationship considerably further. Google said construction during 2027 and 2028 is expected to support more than 37,000 jobs across Finland and contribute about 3.6 billion euro annually to the European country’s GDP during the construction phase. Once operational, the facilities are expected to support thousands of permanent jobs.
The company is also putting 31 million euro into community initiatives in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala over the next four years. The programme includes education, research and workforce development, including AI upskilling for more than 4,400 workers and training opportunities for 100 Finnish students interested in future data-centre careers.
Google is pairing the expansion with a strategy to secure long-term electricity supplies and strengthen Finland’s power infrastructure.
The company has signed a 22-year power purchase agreement with Finnish utility Fortum supporting the life extension of the Loviisa nuclear power plant. Under the agreement, Google will purchase up to 50% of the plant’s output between 2030 and 2049, according to Fortum.
The agreement represents Google’s first nuclear power deal outside the US and gives the company a long-term source of low-carbon electricity for its Finnish operations. Loviisa currently accounts for about 10% of Finland’s electricity generation.
Google is also planning additional renewable-energy capacity and has contracted for a 94MW battery system designed to help stabilise electricity prices during periods of cold, windless weather.
The company said it is working with Finland’s grid operator Fingrid and Business Finland to identify infrastructure locations that can make better use of existing grid capacity and carbon-free power sources.
Google’s Finnish strategy also reflects the changing geography of Europe’s data-centre industry. Countries competing for AI investment increasingly need to offer not only connectivity and skilled labour but also abundant, affordable electricity and credible routes to lower-carbon power.
Finland is positioning itself accordingly. Its electricity system has a large nuclear component alongside rapidly expanding wind generation, while its cooler climate can reduce the energy required for server cooling. The country also has a substantial industrial base and established technology expertise.
Google’s existing investment has already generated a sizeable domestic supplier ecosystem. Between 2023 and 2025, the company said its Hamina operations supported more than 600 Finnish suppliers involved in construction, operations and network fibre.
The company is also tying the expansion to environmental projects, including the regeneration of native forests and wetlands around its sites and the development of recreational infrastructure such as public saunas, fishing piers and accessible trails.
For Google, however, the central objective remains computing capacity. Demand for AI services is accelerating, and Alphabet is investing heavily across the infrastructure stack to support products such as Gemini while maintaining capacity for its established search, cloud, maps and video businesses.
The Finnish investment therefore represents more than an expansion of Google’s European footprint. It is a bet that the next phase of AI growth will be determined not simply by software and chips, but by where companies can secure reliable power, efficient cooling, resilient grids and social support for increasingly electricity-intensive infrastructure.