OpenAI has announced plans to establish its first European data centre, Stargate Norway, in partnership with the British cloud infrastructure provider Nscale and Norwegian energy company Aker.
According to TechCrunch, the site will be developed as a 50:50 joint venture between Nscale and Aker, with Nscale responsible for its design and construction. OpenAI will act as an off-taker, purchasing computing capacity from the facility.
The initiative forms part of a broader effort across Europe to strengthen AI sovereignty and increase investment in domestic data infrastructure. Earlier this week, the European Union outlined a significant funding package aimed at enhancing AI capability, including an initial €10 billion for the creation of 13 AI factories, and €20 billion earmarked for early investment in the sector. Data sovereignty remains a central concern, particularly given the sensitivity of governmental and commercial information.
Although it is unclear whether OpenAI’s project aligns directly with the EU’s AI infrastructure strategy, the company did not respond to requests for comment. Nscale’s chief executive, Josh Payne, told CNBC that the project seeks to leverage European sovereign compute capacity to support the continent’s AI ecosystem. Priority access to the data centre will be granted to local startups and research institutions in Norway.
According to CNBC, both Nscale and Aker have pledged approximately $1 billion each towards the initial 20-megawatt (MW) phase of development. OpenAI stated that Stargate Norway would commence with a 230 MW capacity and later expand to 290 MW, powered by 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of 2026.
The facility will be situated near Narvik in northern Norway, chosen for its cool climate, access to hydropower and established industrial infrastructure. OpenAI noted that the centre would operate entirely on renewable energy and employ closed-loop, direct-to-chip liquid cooling systems to maximise efficiency. Excess heat generated from GPU operations is to be repurposed to support low-carbon industries in the surrounding area.
In line with the EU AI Act, which came into effect in August 2024, data centres must adhere to environmental protection standards and disclose the energy usage associated with AI model training. The bloc’s Energy Efficiency Directive further mandates energy recovery from data centres exceeding specified input levels.
The Stargate Norway announcement follows OpenAI’s earlier commitment to invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States, through partnerships with Oracle and SoftBank. It also comes after the launch of Stargate UAE and a recent agreement with the British government aimed at accelerating AI deployment and improving infrastructure.
