Finland as a Data Centre Market

Key drivers

Finland’s attractiveness for digital infrastructure investments is based on a number of factors being present at the same time.

First of all, Finland offers a clear cost advantage for energy-intensive data centres due to its low electricity prices. Underpinned by fast-growing generation of renewable energy, Finland has consistently been one of Europe’s lowest-cost wholesale electricity markets in recent years. With electricity production retaining considerable growth potential, prices are expected to remain adequate even with increasing demand.

More than 95% of Finland’s domestic electricity production is carbon-neutral, with wind, hydro and nuclear forming the backbone of the mix. This caters to many data centre investors’ objectives of achieving growth while maintaining sustainability.

Important for digital infrastructure, Finland offers excellent data connectivity. It is a major Northern European digital gateway with multiple subsea fiber connections to Central Europe, Sweden and the Baltics. New Baltic Sea cables and longer-term Arctic routes are set to strengthen the country’s role as a low-latency bridge between Europe and Asia.

At the same time, power grid availability continues to be excellent in Finland. Transmission capacity is continuously expanded to enable large-scale electrification. National grid development is designed to support major new industrial loads, including data centres, hydrogen projects and other energy-intensive investments.

Finland’s climate facilitates natural cooling and heat recovery. While the cool environment lowers energy intake for cooling, Finland’s well-developed district heating networks can turn waste heat into an additional revenue stream and sustainability advantage.

Finally, Finland combines strong technical know-how, high cybersecurity standards and deep experience in critical infrastructure, making it a strong location for secure and sovereign data hosting.

Opportunities for contractors

Public discussion of data centre investments often focuses on power consumption and the delivery of computer hardware. In fact, however, they are first and foremost infrastructure construction projects, with high demand for local contractors and service providers.

Projects range from mid-sized facilities to billion-euro campus programs, creating a growing pipeline of complex industrial construction work. They are becoming a major project category with demanding technical, commercial and interface requirements.

Data centres require large-scale civil works, electrical infrastructure, backup power, UPS systems, cooling, fire safety, automation, security, fiber connectivity, testing and commissioning.

Even where a contractor does not work directly for the project owner, individual packages can be substantial and offer opportunities for specialist expertise, repeat work and long-term positioning in a fast-growing project category.