AtNorth is exploring potential locations for a potential 50MW data center campus and hopes to have chosen a location by the end of Q1 2022.
In an interview with Computerworld Sweden, CEO Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson said the recently-acquired company is planning a large-scale data center campus in northern Europe that could reach up to 50MW.
“Stockholm is our first investment outside Iceland. We have plans to be a major data center player for the entire Nordic region, and will have some hubs. We expect to be in the capitals, but we also want to build a mega-site,” he said.
Kristinsson didn’t provide details, but noted Sweden could be chosen as the home of the proposed campus. He added: “We are looking for a place now, and an important part is that there should be access to renewable energy. The goal is for us to have found the right one now during the first quarter.”
AtNorth currently has one facility in Sweden. Construction on phase one of the SWE01: SIF DC facility in Kista, northern Stockholm, began late 2020, with the first data hall due to be completed in December. The facility was due to have been inaugurated at the end of 2021, but has reportedly been rescheduled for March 10 due to supply chain issues.
“We should have had an inauguration in Stockholm in December, but it was postponed,” said Kristinsson. “There were some critical components that did not arrive on time.”
Work on the second hall in Stockholm has already begun; the second data hall is due to add another 2,750 square meters (29,600 sq ft) and due to come online in the second half of 2022 to total 6MW. At total build-out, the current Swedish facility could reach seven data halls and 11MW.
AtNorth was formed as Advania in 2012 from three components: Skyrr, a public sector IT specialist in Iceland; Kerfi, a Swedish outfit with roots in a Nokia spinoff called Datapoint; and Hands from Norway. The company was acquired last year by Swiss investment manager Partners Group. In Iceland, the company has data centers in Keflavík and just outside Reykjavík in Hafnarfjörðu.
The company is also planning another Icelandic data center in Akureyri, to the island’s north. Local press last year reported the company was looking to buy a 1-hectare plot by Hlíðarfjallsvegur for the construction of a data center; the company also requested priority rights to nearby plots for expansion and could establish a greenhouse that uses heat from the data center.
