“The Nordics have the potential to evolve as a truly global data hub, connecting Europe to North America and Asia,” says Philip Low, independent analyst and Chairman of BroadGroup, commenting on a new report published by the Nordic Council of Ministers, “Data Centre Opportunities in the Nordics – An Analysis of the Competitive Advantages”.
The study, which was carried out by COWI Group, compares the attractiveness of the Nordic region to the so-called FLAP-D region (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin), against the background of accelerating data volumes worldwide and the challenge of tackling sustainable growth of cloud, streaming and computing services.
According to the report’s findings, the Nordics are likely to gain market share thanks to five key advantages: abundant renewable energy, reliable power supply, low energy prices, political stability and faster time-to-market primarily due to ease of doing business.
The Nordic data centre construction market is estimated to attract annual investments of EUR 2-4.3 billion by 2025. This corresponds to an installed annual capacity of 280-580 MW per year. The Nordic region is well connected to the UK, continental Europe, and the US, and major fibre optic installations linking the Nordics to North America and Asia are in the planning stages.