A data center park is being planned at a former copper refinery site in Finland.

Real estate development company CompassForge Ventures this week announced plans for the Ecogrid Energy Park Pori, a new international energy park built in Pori’s Kupariteollisuuspuisto industrial area.

The €1 billion ($1.05bn) project, which is being developed in partnership with Ecogrid.Energy and NCC, will host a data center and a power plant (hydrogen or biogas) that will offer load balancing to the grid. The site will also offer waste heat to the local district heating network in East Pori.

The first phase of the data center development will total 150MW. Images from the company suggest up to six data center buildings are planned, with the park offering a total of 300MW. Further details were not shared.

An operator for the site has not yet been selected.

The Kupariteollisuuspuisto (“Copper Industrial Park” in English) is a 100-hectare industrial park along the Kokemäenjoki River in Pori, a city on the west coast of Finland. The site was long dedicated to copper and nickel production by metals firm Outokumpu.

CompassForge said Outokumpu had sold it a 37-hectare plot for the park. The area is bordered by Tampereentie, Ulvilantie, and Mastojentie.

The site is zoned, and the initial design and permitting processes have started. Construction can reportedly start as soon as H2 2025.​

CompassForge is responsible for property development in collaboration with construction firm NCC, while Ecogrid.Energy is in charge of developing the infrastructure, energy management, and optimization for the energy park, as well as collaboration at the local and grid levels.

Finnish firm CompassForge aims to develop energy parks to host industrial and data center development powered by renewable energy – and also offer heat reuse. CompassForge Ventures is backed by Virtanen Ltd, a real estate development company.

Ecogrid.Energy was set up by Ficolo founder Seppo Ihalainen; Ficolo was acquired by D9 in 2022 and rolled into Verne. One of Ficolo's data centers was an underground site in Pori.

“For us at NCC, the Kupariteollisuuspuisto project continues our development initiatives in the Pori region. This project shifts our focus from residential development to industrial construction in Satakunta. The coastal region is undergoing several development projects and is attracting interest from players across different sectors,” said Sami Nyroos, NCC’s property development director.

As well as Pori, the company is planning a second Ecogrid park in Raisio, a town outside Turku in southwest Finland. The zoning and pre-design are underway for a 2030 construction; the site will initially total 300MW across 40 hectares, reportedly expandable to 1GW and 120 hectares. Few other details are currently available.