OpenAI Doubles Down on Europe: $2B Norway Green Data Center Signals AI Power Play

Norway's fjords just got hotter—OpenAI is dropping $2 billion on a renewable-powered data fortress, and Europe's AI race just shifted gears.

Why Scandinavia? Because when your servers chew through enough energy to power small nations, hydroelectric karma matters. The Arctic Circle's cheap, clean megawatts are the new oil—and OpenAI's betting they'll mint AI dominance instead of petro-billionaires.

Wall Street take note: While VCs chase metaverse ghosts, the smart money's building the actual infrastructure. Too bad your ESG fund still thinks 'data center' means a Bitcoin miner in a Wyoming shed.

TLDRs;

• OpenAI unveils $2B Stargate Norway AI hub with 100% renewable energy and liquid cooling.
• Facility to scale up to 290MW, powering over 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by 2026.
• Norwegian researchers and startups to gain early access; EU rules still apply indirectly.
• Joint venture with Nscale and Aker to support Europe’s growing sovereign AI ambitions.

OpenAI has announced plans to build its first European artificial intelligence data center, marking a bold step into the continent with a green energy commitment.

The project, named Stargate Norway, will be constructed NEAR Narvik, Norway, through a $2 billion joint venture between British cloud infrastructure provider Nscale and Norwegian energy company Aker. Each partner is investing $1 billion for the initial 20-megawatt phase.

OpenAI will not operate the facility directly but will purchase computing power from the site to fuel its growing AI models and services. This MOVE strategically positions OpenAI within the European AI ecosystem, even though the facility lies outside the jurisdiction of the European Union.

A Model for Sustainable AI Growth

Stargate Norway will be entirely powered by renewable energy, capitalizing on Norway’s abundant hydropower resources. To handle the immense computing needs of AI workloads, the center will feature closed-loop, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, a cutting-edge method that drastically reduces energy waste.

The facility is projected to scale up to 290 megawatts by the end of 2026 and support up to 100,000 Nvidia GPUs, making it one of the most powerful and energy-efficient AI infrastructure projects in Europe. Excess heat generated will be redirected to support low-carbon industries in the surrounding region, aligning with sustainability goals.

Norwegian Startups Get Priority as EU Keeps Watch

Though the project is not officially part of the EU’s strategic AI roadmap, Norwegian AI startups and research institutions will receive priority access to the data center’s compute resources.

This reinforces OpenAI’s role in fostering sovereign European compute capacity, even as it operates outside formal EU initiatives.

The move also indirectly aligns with the EU AI Act and the Energy Efficiency Directive, both of which mandate energy reporting and sustainability standards for data centers. Stargate Norway’s transparent design and renewable energy use check the right boxes without formal EU participation.

OpenAI’s timing comes as the European Union unveils a €30 billion investment into 13 sovereign AI facilities aimed at reducing dependency on non-European providers.

While Stargate Norway is not part of this initiative, OpenAI’s announcement places it at the forefront of the race to power Europe’s AI future.

By anchoring a major compute hub in Norway, OpenAI is building a first-mover advantage. The infrastructure will meet increasing demand for AI workloads, expected to consume ten times more energy by 2026 compared to 2023 levels.