Nordic data center provider atNorth has announced a hyperscale facility in Finland, which will open with 60MW, and provide heat to the community.

The FIN04 site in Kouvala, 140km northeast of Helsinki, has an immediate power supply of 60MW, and could expand to "several hundred megawatts" when fully built, atNorth says.

The site will be the tenth data center for atNorth, which spun off from Nordic services company Advania in 2017 and has been acquiring and building data centers backed by Swiss investor Partners Group, which bought atNorth in 2021.

The campus is intended for colocation customers, as well as large built-to-suit projects for hyperscalers.

"This agreement is yet another hallmark moment for atNorth. Kouvola is a critical location for our next site as we continue to expand and meet the growing demand for high-performance services," said atNorth's CEO, Eyjolfur Magnus Kristinsson.

"We are in ongoing discussions with several AI companies, hyperscalers as well as international organizations requiring high-performance computing, who see the clear benefit of moving to the Nordics to decarbonize their IT workloads."

The city of Kouvola has a district heating system run by the local energy company, KSS Energia, whose CEO Marko Riipinen, said: "We are excited to work with atNorth to implement a heat reuse practice that can serve as an inspiration for other businesses striving to meet sustainability targets and contribute to a better world."

City Mayor Marita Toikka lauded the region's circular economy measures: "Kouvola is a sought-after, sustainable destination. We welcome business investment from responsible companies like atNorth who see the benefit in helping to advance digitalization in an environmentally responsible way."

AtNorth recently acquired two Finnish data centers, FIN01 and FIN03, in Vallila and Espoo, from its former parent Advania and has also announced the construction of a third 15MW facility in Espoo.

The company is also building a 30MW facility in Denmark, due to open at the end of 2024. The company bought Swedish HPC firm Gompute in August, adding another 10MW of capacity.