French firm plans 10 billion euro AI data centre in Finland

French company Sesterce plans to build a 10 billion euro data centre in Jämsä, Finland, ERR reported, citing Finnish public broadcaster Yle. The proposed facility would be a 200-megawatt, liquid-cooled centre for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The centre would occupy the former Kaipola paper mill, which stopped operating in 2021, on the shore of Lake Päijänne. Sesterce chief executive Youssef El Manssouri told Yle that the company had made its investment decision and signed an agreement with a future customer. He did not name the customer, describing it as one of two leading AI laboratories, and declined to disclose the project’s funders.

The first stage of construction is expected to begin this year. El Manssouri said cleaning and preliminary interior work were already under way at the mill. The project is expected to create about 2,000 jobs during construction and employ around 300 people once operational. More than 400 people worked at the mill when UPM closed it.

The industrial property is owned by real estate investment company Kaipola Green Port. Its board chair, Martti Inkovaara, told Yle that talks with Sesterce about selling the entire site were well advanced. Several companies currently rent industrial premises there; Sesterce would decide whether they could remain after a change of ownership.

Sesterce says it intends to reuse the former mill’s electricity network, water systems, buildings and transport links. El Manssouri said the location was chosen in part for its low environmental impact. The company also plans to establish a 10 million euro community fund for local projects, working with Jämsä city and residents. An independent third party would audit the fund’s commitments, with results published annually.

Jämsä Mayor Jori Reijula said the city was cautiously enthusiastic but wanted pending permit applications and other details resolved before announcing the data centre’s arrival. He said he had learned of Sesterce’s plans only a few weeks earlier.

The announcement comes after Google, owned by US technology company Alphabet, said in early September that it would invest at least 13 billion euros in artificial intelligence infrastructure in Finland over the next two years. Sesterce’s longer-term aim is to build more than one gigawatt of AI capacity in Finland.