Helen, one of Finland’s largest energy companies, has announced its intent to partner with data center operators interested in locating their operations in Helsinki, Finland.

The company stated that it is open to supporting data center operators in joining its “comprehensive energy system” in Helsinki, where facilities can be connected to the city’s advanced district heating and cooling network.

“The synergy benefits of data centers for the energy system are obvious. Helen can deliver the heat generated by the data center’s operations for the use of city residents, while the data center gets cost-effective cooling. Helen also offers an electricity connection and clean electricity deliveries to the data center. We are a full-service energy partner for data center operators,” says Helen’s chief operating officer, Tuukka Toivonen.

The company claims that Helsinki is an ideal and ready platform for data centers in terms of infrastructure, and while there are already several data centers connected to the system, there is room for “high value-adding actors.”

“The energy transition we are implementing in Helsinki means that there is a need for clean energy forms, and our system has room from hyperscaler to Edge operators. With our expertise, we are ready to support data center operators in establishing themselves in Helsinki,” said Toivonen.

Helen has already partnered with several data center operators and connected them up to Helsinki’s district heating network. This includes Equinix, with whom Helen partnered last year to integrate its 1MW HE5 Viikinmäki data center in Helsinki into the network. The deal was built on an existing relationship, with two of Equinix’s data centers in the Finnish capital already connected up to the network. The companies were among the first to pilot the use of data center waste heat within larger district heating systems, from as early as 2010.

Helen has also partnered with Swedish operator Telia and Finnish operator Elisa on similar projects.

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