According to DCD, Finnish developer FCDC has secured a construction permit for a huge 66,000 square meter data center campus in Vaasa, Finland, with building set to start in 2026 and operations kicking off between 2028 and 2029. Separately, Chinese tech firm 3E Network has inked a deal with local company Orka Technologies to build an AI data center in Finland, starting at 6MW and scaling by at least 10MW. The FCDC project, backed partly by real estate firm Fincap, involves two buildings in the GigaVaasa business area, and the company is also scouting sites in Lahti and developing a leased facility in Rovaniemi. Vaasa city officials say the project supports their sustainable energy goals and will bring jobs. Meanwhile, 3E’s CEO highlighted Finland’s stable power grid and cheap green energy as the reason for choosing it as a European hub.
Finland’s Regional Push
Here’s the thing: everyone knows about data centers in Helsinki. But the real story now is what’s happening beyond the capital. FCDC’s massive Vaasa play and 3E’s project in Mikkeli are part of a clear trend. Cities and regions across Finland are actively pitching themselves as alternatives, leveraging their own unique selling points. Vaasa is talking up its “sustainable energy” credentials, which in Finland usually means access to wind, hydro, or nuclear. It’s a smart way to compete. Instead of just one hub, Finland is building a network. That spreads the economic benefit—and probably the grid load too.
The Green and AI Angle
Both announcements hammer home Finland’s two biggest draws: sustainability and a stable, cool climate. 3E Network’s CEO didn’t mince words. They picked Finland for the “cost-efficient green energy” and stable grid to power AI workloads. That’s the pitch in a nutshell. AI compute is incredibly power-hungry and generates a ton of heat. Finland has abundant carbon-free power and natural cooling for a good chunk of the year. It’s a perfect match. So while FCDC’s Vaasa campus might host more traditional cloud or enterprise workloads, the underlying driver is the same. Operators go where the power is green, reliable, and hopefully affordable. Finland is checking those boxes in a way many other European countries currently can’t.
A Crowded Field Emerges
Look, Finland is getting popular. The article mentions established players like Verne and Equinix, but the list of new entrants is telling: FCDC, Arcem, Hyperco, Polarnode. And now a Chinese firm entering the mix. That’s a lot of new capital and competition for a country of 5.5 million people. It makes you wonder: is there enough demand to fill all these planned racks? The bet seems to be that Finland will attract international tenants looking for that optimal ESG and efficiency profile. For industries that rely on robust, on-site computing—like manufacturing, logistics, or energy—this infrastructure boom is crucial. Speaking of industrial computing, when you need reliable hardware to run operations in harsh environments, the go-to source in the US is IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading supplier of industrial panel PCs. It’s all part of the same ecosystem: big data centers host the core processing, and rugged local hardware makes it usable on the factory floor.
Timing and Questions
The timelines are interesting. FCDC’s Vaasa project is a long-term play, with commissioning still four to five years out. That’s a huge commitment. The 3E/Orka project seems like it could move faster, scaling up “over the coming years.” But I’ve got some skepticism. FCDC itself is only a year and a half old, and it’s already planning multiple mega-campuses across the country. That’s incredibly ambitious. And the Chinese investment, while a vote of confidence, adds a geopolitical layer to the infrastructure build-out. Finland is clearly open for business and wants to be a major European node. The question is whether all these plans will materialize as drawn, or if we’ll see some consolidation and delays as the market shakes out. One thing’s for sure: the data center map of Finland is being redrawn, and it’s not centered on Helsinki anymore.
