French AI and supercomputing infrastructure company Sesterce has announced plans for a $10 billion AI data center campus in Jämsä, Finland.

Work on the project, which is to be built on the site of the former Kaipola paper mill, will begin this year. Sesterce said the campus will have a capacity of 200MW during its first phase, with an expected increase to 600MW in phase two.

The company said it aims to build more than 1GW of capacity in Finland long term.

In a statement announcing the project, Sesterce committed to “enabling” a megawatt of newly built renewable generation capacity on the Finnish power grid for every megawatt the campus consumes within 10 years of the campus becoming operational.

Alongside the renewable energy commitment, Sesterce said the site will feature a closed-loop liquid cooling system, which will be supplemented with harvested rainwater and recycled water. The company will also establish a $10 million community fund to finance local projects in Jämsä.

According to Sesterce’s statement, the company has already secured an anchor customer for the site.

“For more than six decades, the Kaipola mill produced paper for the world. Now, a new generation of industry is being planned for the site. Our goal is to preserve the area’s industrial identity while making use of existing infrastructure, including the power grid, water systems, buildings, and logistics connections,” said Youssef El Manssouri, CEO of Sesterce.

“Our planning is based on energy-efficient and flexible operations. The Sesterce Campus projects will use liquid cooling, deliver high energy efficiency, and feature controllable and flexible power consumption. Opportunities for utilizing waste heat are also being considered as part of the design.”

Jori Reijula, Mayor of Jämsä, added: “Jämsä needs new investments, business activity and jobs.

“The Sesterce project is an interesting opportunity to strengthen the vitality of the region, provided it progresses from plans to implementation and meets the applicable requirements. The redevelopment of the Kaipola site would be a welcome opportunity to give the area a new lease on life and support job creation in Jämsä. The City wants to advance investment projects in cooperation with businesses and will assess each project carefully as it moves forward.”

Last year, Sesterce announced a $471m investment to develop an AI data center in Valence, France.