Rachel Carr is an in-house writer for EME Outlook Magazine, where she is responsible for interviewing corporate executives and crafting original features for the magazine, corporate...
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Google is breaking ground in Sweden with the construction of a cutting-edge data centre in Horndal, designed not only to enhance its digital services but also to foster community growth and sustainable practices through significant investments and job creation.
“This historic groundbreaking marks the beginning of a new chapter that will strengthen Avesta. Welcoming the digital core industry of the future demonstrates the strength and expertise present in our region. Avesta Municipality looks forward to building a strong partnership with Google to drive growth and create new opportunities for all our residents.”
US multinational technology giant Google has begun construction on a new data centre in Horndal, a small locality in the Avesta Municipality, Sweden.
This new facility is designed for off-site heat recovery, which will help meet the growing demand for Google’s core services, such as Search, Cloud, Workspace, and YouTube. These services are used daily by individuals, businesses, and public-sector organisations in Sweden and around the world.
In addition, Google has announced a €5 million fund to support local community initiatives focused on education, sustainability, economic growth, and workforce development.
Moreover, the data centre will create 100 direct full-time jobs and generate thousands more through construction, suppliers, and local businesses.
Currently, Google is collaborating with nearly 60 Swedish suppliers for the construction of the new data centre.
According to projections, for each job created directly at a Google data centre in Sweden, an additional 2.3 jobs are supported in the broader national economy. These jobs can range from heating and ventilation repair to maintenance, engineering, and landscaping.
Overall, Google’s ongoing investment in technical infrastructure across Europe, including its data centres, significantly supports popular digital services that people and businesses rely on every day.
Furthermore, these advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies enable Europe to improve its economic competitiveness, productivity, and scientific progress, fostering thriving and sustainable societies.
“I’m excited about this news and what it means for Sweden. This will give businesses, public institutions, and people even better and faster access to our technology, thus supporting the digital transformation of Sweden. It also underscores our long-term vision for Sweden and Europe, demonstrating a deep commitment to accelerating regional innovation through strategic investment.”
Google has announced a €5 million fund to support local projects aimed at upskilling the workforce, promoting sustainable impact programmes, and addressing community causes.
This initiative, therefore, reflects Google’s commitment to enhancing digital knowledge for individuals and businesses in Sweden. The company has already trained over 284,000 people in the country on digital and AI skills, including students, educators, small business owners, and developers.
This demonstrates its dedication to making digital skills accessible to all.
Recently, Google.org revealed that AI Sweden will lead an initiative to provide comprehensive AI training for 13,000 workers across Northern Europe. This programme aims to equip those most impacted by AI with the tools to navigate a rapidly evolving job market.
Furthermore, Google has been present in Sweden since 2004, with an office in Stockholm. Through its cloud platform and advertising network, the company has supported tens of thousands of Swedish businesses, publishers, nonprofits, creators, and developers.
Lastly, the new facility in Horndal is designed to meet the growing customer demand for cloud services in Sweden and worldwide.
“By partnering with Google Cloud, Nordnet has built a new, cloud-native platform that takes advantage of faster time-to-market, improved scalability, and enhanced security. We applaud Google’s continued investment in Sweden, which gives us opportunities for further innovation with AI, and to continue to deliver exceptional customer experience and accelerate our growth.”
The company collaborates with partners to strengthen and modernise the electricity grid, ensuring that infrastructure expansion not only enhances the grid’s long-term resilience but also improves its overall capacity.
When Google builds data centres, it adds clean energy resources to the grid. This not only helps maintain energy affordability for households but also accelerates the development of energy infrastructure, leading to a more reliable, robust, and carbon-free energy system.
Since signing its first Swedish power purchase agreement (PPA) in 2013, Google has added over 700 megawatts of renewable energy through seven wind projects in the country.
These PPAs support Google’s goal of operating on 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) every hour, every day, on every grid where it operates.
Ultimately, this initiative contributes to Sweden’s aims for affordable, secure, and locally-sourced energy.
POWERING SUSTAINABILITY
Google adopts a data-driven strategy for making cooling decisions that emphasise the responsible use of natural resources both now and in the future.
As part of this approach, the data centre in Horndal will utilise air-cooling technology, which limits water consumption to sanitary and other domestic uses.
Moreover, the new facility in Horndal will be prepared for off-site heat recovery, providing heat at no cost to eligible partners, supporting local homes and businesses, and helping Sweden decarbonise its heat supply.
By capturing the heat generated from data centres, Google aims to promote energy conservation and contribute to the local energy transition.
Since 2013, Google has been at the forefront of developing heat recovery solutions. Initially, this began with on-site applications such as heating its own offices and technical spaces. The company incorporates heat recovery readiness into the design of all new data centres in Europe.
Notably, its first off-site data centre heat recovery project in Hamina, Finland, currently supplies sustainable heat to approximately 2,000 households.
Learn more about Google’s commitment to its data centre communities at datacenters.google
This article was produced by the editorial team at EME Outlook and published as part of the Outlook Publishing global network of B2B industry magazines.
Outlook Publishing delivers industry insights, company stories, and sector coverage across manufacturing, mining, construction, healthcare, supply chains, food production, and sustainability.
EME Outlook provides ongoing coverage of organisations and developments shaping industries across Europe and the Middle East.
Rachel Carr is an in-house writer for EME Outlook Magazine, where she is responsible for interviewing corporate executives and crafting original features for the magazine, corporate brochures, and the digital platform.
