French AI infrastructure firm Sesterce has announced plans to invest more than 10 billion euros in the building of artificial intelligence (AI) data centres at the site of a former paper mill in Jämsä, Central Finland.
If realised, the project would be significant in scale — and only around three billion euros smaller than Google's 13-billion-euro investment across multiple locations, which was announced in September.
Investment confirmed, client undisclosed
Yle has received confirmation from Sesterce's CEO Youssef El Manssouri that the investment decision has already been made and a contract has been signed with the future client.
However, El Manssouri has not identified the company that will become the data centre's client, but said it's one of two leading AI laboratories. He also declined to reveal the project's financial backers.
According to French commercial register data, Sesterce Group is registered in Marseille and was entered into the commercial register in 2021. According to the register, the firm's turnover was 11.95 million euros in 2024.
The former paper mill site is currently owned by real estate company Kaipola Green Port. Its board chair, Martti Inkovaara, told Yle that the firm has been negotiating with Sesterce about selling the entire site.
According to Inkovaara, negotiations about the deal are in an advanced stage — he also declined to discuss the price.
"I'd be surprised if the deal didn't go through," Inkovaara said.
Several companies currently rent industrial space at the Kaipola site. Inkovaara noted that it will be up to Sesterce to decide whether their operations can continue at the site if ownership changes.
Jobs expected
El Manssouri told Yle that the construction phase of the project could bring around 2,000 jobs to Jämsä. Once completed, the AI facility would employ approximately 300 people.
When paper giant UPM shut down the Kaipola mill, it had employed over 400 workers.
The first construction phase is set to begin before the end of this year. It involves building a 200-megawatt liquid-cooled AI data centre at the mill site.
El Manssouri noted that the site clearance and initial interior work are already underway. In the long term, the company aims to build over one gigawatt of AI capacity in Finland.
The former paper mill site already has infrastructure, including an electricity grid, water systems, buildings and logistics arrangements. According to Sesterce's CEO, building the data centre therefore shouldn't cause biodiversity loss.
El Manssouri said the Kaipola site was chosen specifically for its minimal environmental impact in setting up the facility.
"Many supercomputer projects destroy a lot of nature. Finland has excellent industrial sites that we can convert into supercomputer centres. That guided our choice," he said.
The company added that it is committing to contributing the same amount of new renewable electricity production into Finland's grid for every megawatt the "AI campus" uses.
Sesterce has also vowed to establish a 10-million-euro local community fund to finance local projects together with the town of Jämsä and its residents.
An independent third party will monitor and audit the firm's commitments, with the company promising that the results will be publicly reported every year.
Town cautiously optimistic
Locals in the town responded to the major investment news with cautious enthusiasm, at least for now.
Town manager Jori Reijula said he only learned of Sesterce's plans a few weeks ago.
Reijula said he thinks the project is significant for a place whose population and vitality have declined in recent years. But it's not time to celebrate yet.
"There are still many permit processes, and many things need to fall into place. I want to see things progress before we start declaring that a data centre is here," he said.
