Nebius expands European presence with AI data center in Finland

AI infrastructure firm Nebius Group announced Tuesday that it is continuing its rapid European expansion with a 310-megawatt data center in Finland, projected to be one of the continent’s largest and valued at over $10 billion, amid growing demand for AI computing.

The Amsterdam-based company said its 10th site, currently under construction by Finnish developer Polarnode in Lappeenranta near Finland’s eastern border with Russia, will come online in phases starting in 2027, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Nebius has recently secured supply contracts exceeding $40 billion with U.S. software giants Microsoft and Meta. The new facility will be used to train AI models and run AI applications but will not be tied to any single client.

Polarnode CEO Mikko Toivanen described the project as one of Finland’s largest infrastructure undertakings, emphasizing its role in supporting European data sovereignty. Finland’s low energy costs, renewable electricity, and cold climate make it particularly suitable for large data centres, reducing operating and cooling expenses.

Lappeenranta was selected due to factors such as available land, sufficient grid capacity, and a favorable ecosystem, according to Nebius Chief Communications Officer Tom Blackwell.

The Lappeenranta centre will be Nebius’ largest outside the United States, surpassing the 240 MW project near Lille, France, announced in February. Nebius’ current largest operational European site is also in Finland, a 75 MW facility in Mantsala.

CEO Arkady Volozh stated that the Lappeenranta facility will make a “significant contribution” to Nebius’ capacity goals, which include securing over 3 gigawatts of contracted capacity by year-end. The site is expected to consume enough electricity to power up to half a million Finnish households and eventually represent roughly 10% of Nebius’ contracted capacity.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev