HORNDAL, Sweden — June 2, 2026 — Today, Google broke ground on a new data center in Horndal. The facility, designed for off-site heat recovery, will help meet growing demand for Google’s core services — such as Search, Cloud, Workspace and YouTube — that people, businesses and public sector organizations in Sweden and around the world use every day. Google also announced a EUR 5 million fund to support local community initiatives focused on education, sustainability, economic growth and workforce development.
The data center will generate 100 direct full-time jobs, and create thousands more through construction, suppliers, and local businesses. Today, Google is already working with nearly 60 Swedish suppliers for the construction of the new data center. For every job created directly at a Google data center in Sweden, an additional 2.3 more jobs – from heating and ventilation repair, to maintenance, to engineering and landscaping – are projected to be supported in the broader national economy.
Google's continued investment in technical infrastructure in Europe, including its data centers, powers popular digital services that people and businesses across the continent use every day. These AI and digital technologies enable Europe to enhance economic competitiveness, productivity, and scientific progress in service of thriving and sustainable societies.
Empowering Sweden’s digital economy through AI skills and education
Today Google announced a EUR 5 million fund to support local projects focused on upskilling the local workforce, sustainable impact programs, and community causes. This fund is rooted in Google’s dedication to help people and businesses in Sweden extend their digital knowledge.
Google has already trained more than 284,000 people in the country on digital and AI skills, including students, educators, small business owners, and developers, underscoring its commitment to making digital skills accessible to all. Recently, Google.org announced that AI Sweden will lead an initiative to provide comprehensive AI training for 13,000 workers across Northern Europe, enabling those most exposed to AI to navigate a rapidly changing career landscape.
Google has been present in Sweden with a Stockholm office since 2004 and, through its cloud platform and advertising network, has supported tens of thousands of Swedish businesses, publishers, nonprofits, creators, and developers. The facility in Horndal will help meet growing customer demand for cloud services in Sweden and around the world.
Investing in local clean energy
Google’s industry-leading energy efficiency, paired with its commitment to bring new energy and technologies online and working with partners to strengthen and modernise the grid helps ensure the company's infrastructure growth bolsters the electricity grid's long-term resilience. When Google builds data centers, additional clean resources are brought to the grid, helping to safeguard energy affordability for households and accelerate build out of energy infrastructure to create a more reliable, robust, and carbon-free energy system.
Since signing its first Swedish power purchase agreement (PPA) in 2013, the company has added more than 700 megawatts of renewable energy through seven wind projects in the country. These PPAs support Google’s ambition to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE), every hour of every day, on every grid where it operates, contributing to Sweden’s goals for affordable, secure, and homegrown energy.
Heat recovery ready
Google takes a data-driven approach to cooling decisions that prioritize using natural resources responsibly, both today and into the future. In line with this approach, the data center in Horndal will use air-cooled technology, limiting water consumption to sanitary and other domestic uses.
The new facility in Horndal will also be ready for off-site heat recovery in order to provide heat free of charge to eligible partners to support local homes and business, and support Sweden to decarbonise its heat supply. Capturing data center heat represents an opportunity for energy conservation, and locally contributes to the energy transition.
Since 2013, Google has been pioneering heat recovery solutions, starting with on-site applications like heating its own offices and technical spaces. Google embeds heat recovery readiness into the design of all new data centers in Europe. Its first offsite data center heat recovery project in Hamina, Finland, is currently supplying about 2,000 households with sustainable heat.
Learn more about Google’s commitment to its data center communities at datacenters.google.
Notes for editors / Statements
Blerta Krenzi, Chair of the Municipal Board, Avesta: “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.”
Anna Wikland, Managing Director Google Nordics: “I’m excited about today’s 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.”
Rasmus Järborg, CEO, Nordnet: “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."