Sesterce will invest $10 billion in a 600MW AI data center campus in Jämsä, Finland, with construction starting this year. The French AI and supercomputing infrastructure company announced the project this week, confirming it has already secured an anchor customer for the site.

The campus will rise on the grounds of the former Kaipola paper mill. Phase one delivers 200MW of capacity; phase two is expected to raise that to 600MW. Sesterce said it aims to build more than 1GW of capacity in Finland over the long term.

What has Sesterce committed to on energy?

The company 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.

On cooling, the site will use a closed-loop liquid cooling system, supplemented with harvested rainwater and recycled water. Sesterce will also establish a $10 million community fund to finance local projects in Jämsä.

Why the Kaipola mill site?

CEO Youssef El Manssouri framed the project as a continuation of the site's industrial history: "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," El Manssouri said.

He added that the design emphasizes efficiency: "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."

How does Jämsä's mayor view the plan?

Jori Reijula, Mayor of Jämsä, welcomed the proposal while stressing that it remains at the planning stage.

"Jämsä needs new investments, business activity and jobs," Reijula said. "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 of life and support job creation in Jämsä," the mayor continued. "The City wants to advance investment projects in cooperation with businesses and will assess each project carefully as it moves forward."

Where does this fit in Sesterce's portfolio?

The Finnish campus marks a major scale-up for the company. Last year, Sesterce announced a $471 million investment to develop an AI data center in Valence, France.

The Jämsä project is more than 20 times that amount by capital committed, and its 600MW target places it among the larger AI campus proposals in the Nordic region.