Google commits €13 billion to Finnish AI data centers, its largest single investment in Europe
Confirmed
Status
- Claim
Confirmed
- Our reporting
- High confidence
- Importance
- 3 of 5
- Last verified
- 8 October 2026
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Key facts
- Amount: at least €13 billion over two years (2027–2028); announced Sept 9, 2026 by Bikash Koley, VP Google Global Infrastructure
- Sites: Hamina (existing campus expansion), Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala
- Energy: 22-year agreement supporting the Loviisa nuclear plant’s life extension; new onshore wind capacity; 94 MW battery system for cold, windless periods
- Google’s estimates: €3.6B a year added to Finland’s GDP and 37,000+ jobs supported during construction; €31M for local communities over four years; AI upskilling for 4,400+ workers
- Oct 2026: Finland ordered Google to halt some data-center work (see Finland orders Google’s Tuike Finland to halt land clearing at its Muhos and Kajaani data-center sites until environmental assessments are done)
What happened
Google expanded beyond its long-running Hamina site to three new Finnish locations. Finland offers a cool climate, clean power and grid capacity. The nuclear life-extension agreement is a long-term power deal tied to Fortum’s Loviisa plant (Yle reports up to half its output).
Why it matters
It is one of the largest AI-infrastructure commitments in Europe in 2026 and part of the Nordic data-center boom (Bloomberg counted over €67B of planned or active Finnish data-center investment by October). Weeks later, Finnish authorities ordered Google to halt some work.
Sources
5 sources from 5 sites. Numbers match the chips in the text.
5 sources: 2 primary, 3 press
Primary
- Google blog: Google deepens its commitment to Finland with a €13 billion investment in AI infrastructureblog.google, official
- Google Cloud Press Corner: two-year €13 billion investment in AI infrastructuregooglecloudpresscorner.com, official
Press
- Yle: Google’s Finland investmentyle.fi, press
- Evertiq: Google to invest €13 billion in Finnish AI infrastructureevertiq.com, press
- Bloomberg: Finland’s data center tally tops €67 billion on AI boom (Oct 8)bloomberg.com, press
Changes
- Filed (previously only background in the Finland halt entry)