October 22， 2025
Aker Nscale announces large-scale plans to construct an artificial intelligence data center in the small town of Korgen, located approximately a 3.5-hour drive south of Bodø in Northern Norway. The news was first reported by local newspaper Rana Blad.
Nils Lysø of Aker informed the newspaper that the planned facility in Korgen is intended to be as large as the advanced AI infrastructure project the company is developing in Narvik, further north.
This initiative follows Aker's significant existing investments in AI infrastructure. As widely reported, Aker and Nscale, in collaboration with OpenAI, are heavily investing in an AI Gigafactory named Stargate Norway at Kvandal outside Narvik. A key agreement worth approximately NOK 60 billion was secured with Microsoft in mid-September for this project. Furthermore, Aker has recently finalized its investment in Nscale, leading to the formation of the new joint venture company, Aker Nscale.
Power and Zoning Challenges
According to Rana Blad, Aker Nscale has acquired power company Nordkraft's interests and assumed all agreements with the landowner for a designated area in Korgen, within Hemnes municipality.
The desired plot, previously under an option held by Nordkraft since 2019, is adjacent to a facility owned by state-owned hydropower company Statkraft. The municipality's newly proposed land-use plan has set aside this area for commercial purposes.
However, the project's realization depends on two key factors: the approval of the zoning plan and securing access to sufficient power.
"Since there were delays in our zoning plan, we chose to postpone the process of applying to Statnett for an allocation of power in the grid. We are now waiting in line," Lysø told Rana Blad. Statnett is the system operator of the Norwegian national power grid.
When asked about the project's power requirements, Lysø estimated that the planned data center would require a grid capacity of 250 MW. This consumption slightly exceeds the average annual production of the nearby Nedre Røssåga power station, where the facility may be located.
SOURCE HighNorthNews
