Nebius Plans 310MW AI Data Center in Lappeenranta, Finland
March 31, 2026
The global race for artificial intelligence infrastructure is intensifying, with cloud providers scrambling to secure power and build capacity to meet explosive demand. In a significant move within the European market, AI cloud specialist Nebius has unveiled plans for a massive new data center campus in Finland, marking a key step in its ambitious expansion strategy.
The company revealed on March 31 that it is developing a multi-building data center campus in Lappeenranta, Finland, with a planned total capacity of up to 310 megawatts (MW). This project represents a major expansion of Nebius’s footprint in the Nordic country, where it already operates a 75MW facility in Mäntsälä. The development is being constructed on approximately 100 acres of industrial land and is expected to create around 700 jobs during its build phase, transitioning to 100 permanent positions once operational. The first phase of capacity is slated to come online in 2027.
The project is being developed by Polarnode, a new Finnish data center firm led by former executives of energy company Ilmatar. Polarnode claims to have a portfolio of six projects in development totaling over 500MW. In an email statement, Polarnode's chairman, Mikko Toivanen, called the project "historic" in scale and "highly significant at a national level," noting it is the first data center project in the Lappeenranta area to advance to construction. Financial advisory firms Savills and Augusta are acting as co-exclusive advisers to Polarnode for the project.
Nebius founder and CEO Arkady Volozh stated, "We have been building in Finland for many years and are pleased to be expanding our presence here. Lappeenranta represents a significant addition to our global AI infrastructure build-out and will make a significant contribution to achieving our capacity goals.” The company aims to have more than 3 gigawatts of contracted power globally by the end of 2026, with over 750MW secured across its EMEA sites, including a separate 140MW project in Lille, France.
Local officials welcomed the investment. Lappeenranta Mayor Tuomo Sallinen emphasized the city's role in Finland's growing AI ecosystem, stating the data center will help meet Europe's AI demand "for decades to come." He highlighted that the project would be "built sustainably on clean energy and driven largely by Finnish expertise." Nebius confirmed the facility will be predominantly low-carbon, utilizing closed-loop cooling systems and designed to integrate a heat recovery system for the local district network.
The announcement underscores Finland's attractiveness for large-scale data center investments, driven by its cool climate, stable grid, and renewable energy resources. Lappeenranta, the regional capital of South Karelia, is also home to a Scale42 data center, and Polarnode is separately developing another campus in the region that could eventually support 350MW. The news follows Nebius's recent major contract with Meta, which could be worth up to $27 billion for its AI capacity, signaling the company's rapid ascent as a key infrastructure player for the AI era.
Source: datacenterdynamics
