Google to invest $15.1 billion in AI data centres in Finland and buy nuclear power for 22 years
Alphabet's Google announced its largest European investment on 10 September 2026: three new data centres in northern Finland and a 22-year agreement with Fortum for up to half of one nuclear plant's output.
Google will invest at least €13 billion (US$15.1 billion) in AI infrastructure in Finland over the next two years, Reuters reported on 10 September 2026. The company calls it its biggest investment in Europe.
The deal
- Three new data centres in the north of Finland, where winter temperatures fall well below −10 °C and cooling costs are lower.
- A 22-year power-purchase agreement with the utility Fortum for up to 50% of the energy output of one of Finland's two nuclear plants. Fortum confirmed the agreement separately.
- Google describes it as its first nuclear-energy deal outside the United States.
The announcement was made by Ruth Porat, Google's President and Chief Investment Officer. Alphabet has raised its total 2026 capital-expenditure guidance to US$195–205 billion to meet AI computing demand.
The pattern
The AI race is increasingly an energy and real-estate race. Microsoft and ByteDance are also looking at Finland for the same reasons: low-carbon baseload electricity, cold climate and stable regulation. The same week, Qualcomm and Amazon announced a data-centre chip agreement that Reuters reported could reach US$60 billion.
For governments in the Caspian region that are building their own AI strategies, the Finnish case shows what large-scale AI investment actually buys: land, grid capacity and long-term power contracts first, models second.
