Finland builds EU’s largest AI factory in Kajaani

Construction of the European Union’s largest artificial intelligence factory by computing power is halfway complete in Kajaani, with operations scheduled to begin at the end of 2027, Yle reports.

The facility will house the Lumi AI supercomputer, the Lumi IQ quantum computer made by Finnish company IQM, and a competence centre. The centre’s experts will help researchers, companies and public organisations use the available computing power.

The data centre is being built with 450 cubic metres of cross laminated timber, or CLT. The material comes from the nearby town of Kuhmo, where the Crosslam factory uses local wood. Around 150 people are currently working on the construction site, most of them from the Kainuu or Northern Ostrobothnia regions, according to Jarkko Salmenoja, a unit manager at construction company SRV.

Because the equipment consumes large amounts of electricity and requires cooling, the project also involves extensive building services. SRV is installing 3.5 kilometres of liquid cooling pipes. Commissioning and testing of the building services will begin at the start of 2027.

The Lumi AI supercomputer will have ten times the artificial intelligence capacity of the existing Lumi supercomputer and nearly twice its computing capacity. The factory is expected to support research in areas including industry, healthcare, climate and weather, materials technology and language.

The project builds on CSC’s long-term presence in Kajaani. CSC, Finland’s national supercomputing centre, has operated there since 2010. The Lumi supercomputer, operated by the European EuroHPC joint undertaking, began operating at a nearby CSC data centre in 2021.

Juha Oinonen, CSC’s director responsible for data centre technology, said Lumi had been an important pioneer for the AI factory. He said locating the facility in Finland would make it easier for Finnish researchers and companies to use the computing power for research and product development.