The Finnish investment includes data centres, electricity grid improvements, clean energy and battery projects that will support services including Gemini, Search, Maps and YouTube, Google said. The investment, planned for 2027 and 2028, is the company’s largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe so far.
The nuclear agreement involves a 22-year purchase contract for up to 50% of the energy output of one of Finland’s two nuclear plants, its operator Fortum said separately.
Nuclear power, which provides large amounts of low-carbon energy, is among the factors attracting companies such as Microsoft, ByteDance and Google to Finland as they seek locations for data centres while controlling energy costs and meeting climate goals.
“This is Google’s first nuclear energy deal outside of the United States, and we think it’s a really important cornerstone to everything that we are doing here,” Google Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat told reporters in Helsinki.
Fortum and Google will also explore the development of new nuclear and renewable energy projects in Finland, the companies said.
Fortum’s share price rose 10% by 0825 GMT, outperforming a 1.4% increase in the Helsinki benchmark stock index.
Alphabet this year increased its global investment to between $195 billion and $205 billion as it seeks to capture growing demand for computing capacity.
Google said its Finnish investment would contribute about $3.6 billion to Finland’s gross domestic product during the construction phase and is projected to support around 7,000 jobs annually once operational.
“The new digital infrastructure will serve as building blocks for Finnish and broader European digital readiness, innovation, and AI development,” Google said in a statement.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Google’s decision was “a clear testament to our strengths”.
“The value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment into spurring innovation, research, and development,” he added.
Fortum said the long-term purchase agreement provides economic certainty for a lifetime extension and upgrade of the Loviisa power plant through 2050. The plant is located near Google’s Hamina data centre.
The investment and energy agreement place Finland at the centre of Google’s expanding AI infrastructure plans, combining data centre development with long-term access to nuclear and renewable energy.
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