A new data center project is planned in Finland.

The municipality of Utajärvi last week announced energy storage developer AmpTank is planning a 100MW data center in the Mustikkakangas industrial area.

Utajärvi is a municipality in North Ostrobothnia, a region of northern Finland, located some 60km east of Oulu.

AmpTank, in cooperation with partner Greensky Energy, has established a project company, Data Tank Nordic Oy, in Utajärvi for the project. The 10-hectare project will reportedly feature battery energy storage.

Technical designs and permitting of the €700-900 million ($819m-1bn) project are currently underway. Construction is estimated to begin in early 2026 and become operational during 2027.

Founded in 2021, AmpTank is a privately held Swiss-Finnish company focused on the development of battery energy storage systems. The company has one electricity storage facility already in operation in Finland, in addition to three under construction. On its website, AmpTank said it has 200MW of capacity operational or under construction, with 2GWh+ of projects under development.

The Utajärvi data center is the company’s first, but AmpTank reportedly has two other data centers planned, another in Finland and one in Denmark, totaling 400MW.

Yle reports the company’s other Finnish project is located in Viitajärvi, Tornio, where a suitable land area has already been reserved for the company. Tornio is some 180km northwest of Utajärvi.

“From our perspective, Utajärvi is where everything comes together,” said AmpTank chairman, Hannu Koivusalo.

“Utajärvi is where existing and expanding renewable energy production and the opportunity for long-term cooperation with its producers, a highly cooperative and commercially minded municipality, the availability of land, the municipality’s coordinated cooperation with energy producers and consumers, the location and climate, and future plans for utilizing waste heat come together.”

Greensky Energy is a Finnish green transition accelerator founded in 2023, focused on renewable energy projects. The firm says it acts as a development partner for Finland’s largest landowners and works with international energy investors.

Utajärvi Mayor, Anne Sormunen, and Utajärvi Business Park Oy CEO, Vuokko Paso, added in a joint statement: “Utajärvi Mustikkakangas is located in a good location, with good transport connections. It is wonderful to follow energy complexes and investment plans for our area. In our industrial area, we strive to offer and enable flexible business plots for companies, suitable for their needs. Thanks to the clean energy produced nearby, the good location, and the great business culture, it is great to start growing the Utajärvi business ecosystem together.”

Yle reports two operators are in the running to take over the development once complete, but no names have been shared as yet.

Most of Finland’s data centers are located in the country’s capital, Helsinki. Established operators, including the likes of Verne, Equinix, and atNorth, have a presence in Finland, while newer operators such as Polarnode, FCDC, Arcem, and Hyperco are planning multiple developments across the country. International operators, including QTS and DayOne, are also looking to develop in Finland.