Artificial intelligence needs a growing amount of computing power and, as a result, a growing amount of electricity. That’s why data centers, the infrastructure needed to run services like chatbots, search engines and digital platforms, are expanding so quickly.

To tackle the problem from the energy side, Google has launched a major investment in Finland that includes new data centers and a 22-year nuclear power purchase agreement.

Specifically, the Alphabet subsidiary will invest at least €13 billion (about $14 billion) over the next two years. It is the largest European investment Google has ever announced, and it will cover digital infrastructure, the power grid, batteries and clean-energy projects.

Why is Google investing so much in Finland?

The project calls for building three new data centers in northern Finland, a region that is particularly attractive for infrastructure that has to handle enormous amounts of data. One reason is Finland’s climate: winters are extremely cold, with temperatures dropping well below 14°F (-10°C). That cold air helps cool the servers, reducing the amount of energy needed to keep the facilities running.

Finland also offers a stable power grid with a significant supply of low-emission electricity. That combination is drawing more and more tech companies looking to expand their computing capacity in Europe.

Google’s investment is planned for 2027 and 2028 and, according to the company’s estimates, should contribute about €3.6 billion (roughly $3.9 billion) to Finland’s GDP during the construction phase and support around 7,000 jobs a year once the infrastructure is up and running.

Google bets on nuclear power to fuel its data centers

The most distinctive part of the investment concerns nuclear energy. Google has signed a 22-year purchase agreement with Fortum, the Finnish state-controlled energy company, that allows it to buy up to 50% of the output of the Loviisa nuclear power plant.

The agreement begins in 2028 with an initially smaller share of capacity and will rise to as much as 50% of the plant’s output between 2030 and 2049. The deal is meant to help guarantee a stable electricity supply for Google’s operations.

The Loviisa plant, operated by Fortum, sits about 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Google’s data center in Hamina. According to the energy company, the contract provides greater economic certainty for extending the plant’s operating life and modernizing it through 2050.

For Google, this is also its first nuclear energy agreement outside the United States. The company and Fortum said they will also explore developing new nuclear and renewable energy projects in Finland in the future.

The new data centers will serve artificial intelligence too

Finland’s expansion is directly tied to the growing demand for computing capacity. The new infrastructure will help support services such as Gemini, Google Search, Maps and YouTube, as part of a broader plan to strengthen the infrastructure Google’s products depend on.

The link between artificial intelligence and energy is becoming increasingly important. Running AI models requires large data centers, where thousands of servers work simultaneously to process enormous amounts of data. Unlike ordinary online activity, training and running advanced models demands substantial computing power, which translates into much higher electricity consumption.

Energy isn’t only needed to power the servers, either. The equipment generates a lot of heat while running and has to be cooled to avoid overheating, so a share of the electricity data centers use goes toward cooling systems. The more computing capacity AI requires, the greater the energy needs of the infrastructure that supports it.

Editor’s note

This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by Emanuela Ceccarelli on September 27, 2026 as «Google punta sul nucleare per alimentare l’AI. Maxi investimento in Europa». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.