The Nordics has long been a hub for data centres, buoyed by access to abundant clean power through hydroelectricity, naturally cool environments, and politically stable economies.

Operators in the region like Equnix, DigiPlex, and Lefdal Mine Datacenter have been boosted by a recent influx of demand from hyperscalers looking to expand their presence in the Nordics.

But with new data centre projects quickly cropping up across the continent, what can the wider European market learn from this industry-leading market segment?

• Henrik Hansen, CEO - Danish Data Centre Association (moderator)
• Judith Gardiner, VP growth emerging markets - Equinix
• Anna Dowson, senior director for sustainability - GreenScale Data Centres
• Isabelle Kemlin, business and innovation executive - RISE Research Institute of Sweden

Nordic nations are seeing significant digital infrastructure expansion, adding to an already bustling market.

Denmark is already the second largest market by total IT capacity across the Nordic countries, according to DCByte. However, the country’s energy agency expects a sixfold increase in data centre capacity by 2030.

Henrik Hansen, CEO of the Danish Data Centre Association, said that meeting this demand sustainably requires intensive collaboration and innovation across sectors, notably in renewable energy deployment.

“We need a lot of partners to engage in how do we solve this challenge of actually growing at that speed, while at the same time keeping our sustainability level very high and expanding our renewable energy source at the speed that we are needing for data centre expansions.”

Judith Gardiner, VP for growth and emerging markets at Equinix, attributed the Nordics' sustainability success to decades of strategic infrastructure investment, robust connectivity, and a conducive regulatory environment.

“There's a real venture capital history in the Nordics, spurring innovation and continuous infrastructure investment," she explained, noting that Sweden and Finland's capability to manage nuclear waste uniquely positions them to address future sustainability challenges.

While established players in the data centre market like Gardiner’s Equnix already have a foothold in the Nordics, emerging operators are also looking to expand into the region.

One such newcomer is GreenScale Data Centres, a European sustainable data centre platform looking to provide infrastructure for hyperscale, AI and cloud customers.

While the firm has set up shop in Ireland and Northern Ireland, Anna Dowson, GreenScale’s senior director for sustainability, said the Nordic’s distinct advantage of stable renewable energy sources has made it “really attractive” for operators.

“The nature of that renewable energy: the fact that it's base load, and you don't have some of the intermittency issues that you would see where you have abundant potential for solar further in the south of Europe,” she said.

Dowson argued for translating Nordic lessons through knowledge sharing, suggesting this is vital for achieving global environmental targets.

“Sustainability tends to be one of those areas where you have the ability to [share information], you don't tend to deal with so many kind of commercially sensitive bits of information, and companies tend to be a little bit more open to collaborating and knowledge sharing,” she said.

Isabelle Kemlin, a business and innovation executive at the Research Institute of Sweden (RISE), echoed Dowson, emphasising that inter-industry collaboration is essential.

“We need partnership and sharing across industries. We also need to reach out to the decision makers and the persons outside of our little world,” she said, urging for increased dialogue with lawmakers, highlighting ongoing gaps in understanding the strategic role and operation of data centres.

Another point emphasised during the discussion was the significance of public-private partnerships, a model effectively utilised in the Nordics.

Hansen explained that such collaborations are critical, as they combine governmental resources and expertise with private sector innovation and capital investment.

“Public-private partnerships bring a lot of knowledge about structuring projects and ensuring compliance, which, combined with private sector innovation, makes them highly effective,” Hansen noted, highlighting this as a vital model from the Nordics that could be replicated throughout Europe.

A key topic discussed throughout the panel was the legislative impact on sustainable data centre operations, specifically the increased accountability brought on by the recently revised Energy Efficiency Directive.

The directive introduces a reporting scheme for all EU data centre operators, forcing them to annually disclose information and KPIs on energy and sustainability and IT equipment and traffic in a bid to foster transparency and the sustainable development of the industry.

Discussing Europe's Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), the panellists agreed it represents a critical starting point for broader transparency and accountability.

Dowson cautioned that while initial reporting requirements are a positive step, subsequent phases — such as setting minimum performance standards — will determine real impacts.

While the directive is initially focused on data collection to establish a baseline, she said it will provide operators with an effective baseline to provide regional variances and “create a level playing field”.

The future stages, she said, will be critical, including how different countries transpose it into local laws as there will be “huge variability across the continent”.
 
Beyond power and load reporting, the next level of the EED will look at all aspects of a data centre: water, IT load, and heat reuse.

Kemlin suggested expanding the directive's scope to include smaller, less efficient data centres to push further industry-wide improvement.

The EED’s reporting obligations requires data centres to be in it for the long haul, Gardiner emphasised, adding: “You have data centre companies which are starting up to take on wave of AI, they have VC capital invested in them, and they're just focused on the next five years, making money and then getting out and making profits.

“To really see the effects of the next level of the directive, there needs to be more of a longer term vision for our digital infrastructure.”

Another pressing topic highlighted by the panel was the challenge of legacy data centres. Gardiner noted that older infrastructures, especially from telecoms, present significant sustainability challenges as companies avoid investing additional capital.

“Nobody wants the old infrastructure,” Gardiner explained. “That's a problem we’ve got ahead of ourselves, all the legacy data centres enterprises or telcos no longer wish to invest in will need to be exited in some form.”

Adding to Gardiner’s point, Hansen referenced a comment from Lex Coors, president of the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA), who said: If you don't build it, you have to buy it forever.

Dowson said that addressing these legacy challenges requires innovative thinking. “We have to be creative, not just about managing legacy facilities but also about supporting local power grids actively rather than passively drawing power.”

The future of Europe’s digital infrastructure hinges on collaboration, policy innovation, and shared responsibility, according to the panel.

Kemlin stressed that times of uncertainty and transformation often push industries to work together more effectively. “When we are really facing big challenges, we see industries coming together. And that’s exactly what’s needed,” she said.

She also underscored the need for European regulation to focus on stimulating innovation rather than just enforcing compliance.

“If and when things are regulated, the focus should be on how we stimulate innovation,” she added, arguing that policies should facilitate sustainability rather than hinder it.

Gardiner stressed the importance of maintaining a long-term vision, stating, “We all need to be in this for the long haul. Short-term investment models won’t achieve sustainable outcomes.”