Data center firm EcoDataCenter has acquired land in Central Sweden for a newly planned campus.
The company this week said it had acquired 20 hectares on the site of a former papermill plant in Borlänge, Dalarna County. The Borlänge municipality said the company has acquired the land for SEK 400 million ($39m).
The planned campus will offer at least 240MW power capacity. In its own announcement, Borlänge Energi said the site could total up to 360MW.
Renderings from EcoDataCenter suggest up to nine buildings could be developed.
Construction will commence as soon as the necessary permits are secured, with the aim of having the first data centers ready by 2027.
“We are currently establishing a leading company designing AI infrastructure and data centers. Our services and expertise are highly sought after in the market. Borlänge is a very important asset for us to meet the market demand and continue to scale the company," said Peter Michelson, CEO of EcoDataCenter.
Green battery firm NorthVolt had planned to turn the Kvarnsveden Mill in Borlänge into a manufacturing plant for battery cells. The company acquired the site in 2022 and aimed to start production by 2024. However, after initially saying it would be delayed to 2026-2027, the company confirmed in July that the project had been canned and the land should be sold.
The Borlänge municipality acquired the site and has sold around a third of the 60 hectares to EcoDataCenter.
Borlänge is around 20km away from Falun, where EcoDataCenter has a data center.
Michelson added: “This location is perfect for us. We can use the same partner ecosystem as we have established in the region as well as connect the two sites, giving clients the potential to build some of the world’s biggest compute clusters.”
EcoDataCenter was formed in 2015 as a joint venture between local energy company Falu Energi & Vatten and data center operator EcoDC AB. Nordic real estate developer Areim took a majority stake in the firm via the Areim Fund III for around SEK 200 million ($22m) in 2018 and merged it with Swedish operator Fortlax in 2019.
The company currently operates five data centers across three sites in Falun, Piteå, and Stockholm. Earlier this year EcoDataCenter announced plans for a new 150MW campus, known as EcoDataCenter 2, in Östersund, Sweden. The campus will be constructed in phases, with the first 20MW completed in 2026.
The company recently signed a hosting deal with GPU cloud firm CoreWeave.
"By cooperating in this project, Borlänge Energi contributes to strengthening Borlänge's position and supporting the local business community to continue developing. We look forward to being part of this journey and creating new opportunities for both residents and businesses in Borlänge," said Mats-Erik Olofsson, CEO at Borlänge Energi.
