Google picks Finland for its largest single investment in Europe

Google will purchase up to half the electricity produced by one of Finland's nuclear power plants as part of a record €13bn (£11bn; $15bn) investment in the country's AI infrastructure, the business confirmed.

Key points

• The Google investment is projected to backing more than 37, 000 jobs during construction and boost Finland's GDP by €3.6bn a year, according to Google.
• "Google's decision is a clear testament to our strengths, " Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo remarked in an official note.
• As part of the accord, Google signed a 22-year contract with Finnish utility Fortum to purchase up to 50% of the output from the Loviisa nuclear power plant.
• "Google is proud to deepen our roots in Finland, " remarked Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google.
• Earlier this year, Google's parent firm Alphabet raised its global spending aims to as much as $205bn as it sought to expand computing capacity for AI services.

For context, the US tech giant remarked the package would fund three new data centres, expand an existing site and backing energy projects to power growing demand for AI services.

"This is Google's largest single investment in Europe and a testament to Finland's leadership in responsibly building AI infrastructure, " the firm stated on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, TikTok confirmed a $1bn investment in Finland to build a new data centre in Kouvola, pointing to the country's "strong digital infrastructure, clean energy mix, robust data governance and skilled tech talent".

Finland has emerged as an attractive location for data centres since of its cool climate, plentiful low-carbon electricity and relatively uncongested power grid. The colder temperatures can reduce the energy needed to cool facilities packed with computer servers.

Technology firms are racing to secure power supplies as the AI boom drives demand for vast networks of data centres.

Meanwhile, the Google investment is projected to backing more than 37, 000 jobs during construction and boost Finland's GDP by €3.6bn a year, according to Google. Construction is due to take place in 2027 and 2028.

"The value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment into spurring innovation, research and development, " Orpo continued.

"Deepening our collaboration with Google will deliver lasting benefits for both parties."

Google will build new data centres in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala, while expanding its existing facility in Hamina. It it established after converting a former paper mill in 2009.

For context, the infrastructure will support backing products such as its AI chatbot Gemini, alongside services including Search, Maps and YouTube.

Google remarked the investments additionally covered "clean energy projects, and dedicated nature and community funds to support local biodiversity, education, research, and workforce development".

"This investment underscores Google's commitment to grow our presence responsibly, pairing the expansion of our technical infrastructure with new energy capacity, grid enhancements, and energy affordability initiatives, " she continued.

Notably, the agreement with Fortum provides long-term financial certainty for the Loviisa plant. It at present generates concerning 10% of Finland's electricity.

Fortum remarked Google's commitment would backing an investment programme aimed at extending the life of the nuclear station and increasing its generating capacity.

Taken together, the developments around google picks Finland for its largest single investment in Europe point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.