Data center firm QTS is expanding its European footprint with plans for a campus in Finland.

The City of Forssa signed a preliminary agreement earlier this year with QTS for more than 100 hectares of land in Ratasmäki. The city is preparing zoning changes to allow for data center development. Zoning work is ongoing, and the Forssa community development board this week said it had no objection to the project.

Forssa is a town and municipality of Finland, some 199km northwest of Helsinki.

Specifications and timelines for the planned data centers haven’t been shared, but some reports suggest it could total 450MW.

“The interest of a large investor like Blackstone in Forssa is very good news. We are pleased that our city is seen as an attractive and strong area in which to invest. The project would support the development of the entire Forssa urban area, and if implemented could create new and very diverse, even unprecedented opportunities for the industry, employment, expertise, and vitality of the area as a whole. The data center project, which could become one of the largest in Europe, is still in its early stages, but this is an important step in the right direction,” Jari Kesäniemi, Mayor of Forssa, said earlier this year.

James Seppala, head of Blackstone’s European real estate business, added: “We have long believed in Finland and the Finnish economy and will continue our investments in the country. We look forward to working with local authorities and the community as we advance this potential investment.”

Nordic real estate investment company Brunswick Real Estate is acting as Blackstone and QTS’ local development partner in the project. Deloitte has been advising QTS on the project.

“We are proud to be part of this exciting data center project and to be working together with Blackstone and QTS in supporting the digital transition,” Brunswick said. “We are thankful for the strong support shown by the City of Forssa as we move forward in our work on the project.”

Founded in 2003 and owned by Blackstone since 2021, QTS has dozens of data centers in operation and development across the US, UK, Netherlands, and Spain. The company has a total of 36 data center properties in its portfolio, which combined for a total of 1,200MW across the United States and Europe.