Programme
Datacenter Changemakers Finland
Episode 1
Back in Helsinki is Datacenter Changemakers Finland, our live talk shows with the people who are changing the face of the data center industry. The most pressing issues facing the digital infrastructure sector will be discussed.
Hosted & moderated by
Liselotte Lyngsø
Founder of Future Navigator
In this episode:
Why are international data center investors so eager to invest in Finland and the Nordics?
We'll explore the surging interest from global investors in Finland and the broader Nordic region as a prime destination for data center investments. What are Finland’s unique advantages which make it a standout location for sustainable and cost-effective data centers? How are the region’s stability, connectivity, and commitment to green energy driving demand from international clients – positioning Finland as a global hub for data center innovation, as well as the broader economic and geopolitical factors attracting foreign investment? From sustainability to security, this conversation will reveal why the world is looking north for its next digital frontier.
Guests include:
Antti “Jogi” Poikola - Managing Director, FDCA
Pekka Järveläinen - Sales Director Colocation Europe, atNorth
Jouni Salonen - Senior Advisor, Business Finland. Invest in Finland - Data Centers
Nordic Data Centers in a Global Context: Trends, Challenges, and Comparisons
The Nordic data center industry is evolving rapidly, shaped by sustainability initiatives, AI-driven demands, and workforce shortages. This session presents key findings from the latest industry survey, comparing trends in the Nordics with other global markets. We will explore how the region stands out in areas like energy efficiency and regulation, while also addressing challenges shared with the rest of the world. Join us for a data-driven discussion on the future of data centers in the Nordics and beyond.
Data Centre project phases in Finland. Things to remember when working with Data Center projects in Finland
With many new operators, consultants, and suppliers entering the Finnish data center market, understanding the landscape is more important than ever. In this presentation Antti-Jussi Laine – Data Centre Business Lead at Sweco and Board Member of the FDCA – will highlight key insights and critical factors that can help you avoid common stumbling blocks and succeed in the industry.
Engineering Bold Backup Power: 3 Quantifiable Ways to Reduce PUE and Emissions in Modern Data Centers
Backup power systems are essential for resilience — but they should not become passive energy drains. This session presents three quantifiable engineering improvements to reduce PUE and emissions in modern Data Centers. Each solution has been thoroughly studied and validated with real operational data. Discover how backup power can become a measurable performance asset rather than merely a compliance requirement.
Accelerate AI Data Center Deployments
AI workloads are driving new demands on data center infrastructure. Populating data center white space can be a slow process, often taking months to install the frame - or pod - that acts as the backbone for the data center, supporting IT, power, and cooling. The fast adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is pressuring data centers to deploy pods more quickly. High-density racks that support AI workloads generate more heat and increase power demand, requiring a more flexible pod architecture. In this presentation, we will explore prefabricated pods versus traditional builds, along with the key advantages of modular data center pod architectures.
Air Cooling in the Age of AI: Limits, Options, Reality and Outlook
AI workloads are driving higher power densities and fundamentally changing the requirements for air cooling in data centers. Operators and designers are increasingly facing uncertainty: Is air cooling still sufficient? How much airflow is realistically achievable? And how do rising loads and changing operating profiles affect cooling concepts in both greenfield and brownfield projects? This uncertainty is clearly reflected in daily project work through a growing number of design iterations, system comparisons, and operating point evaluations.
This presentation explains how AI is actually impacting air cooling in data centers, where the real technical and building-related limits are, and which room-based air cooling concepts are viable today. It also places liquid cooling in context, showing why air cooling remains essential for handling residual heat, infrastructure layout, and space utilization. Based on a real project example, the session demonstrates how cooling concepts can be selected in a structured and practical way, taking into account building constraints, available space, CAPEX, OPEX, and carbon footprint. It shows why air cooling remains a core element of modern data center design, even in the age of AI.
Data Center Market Insights: Finland in a Nordic context
Finland has becomes a significant player within the Nordic region's data centre industry, benefiting from a combination of strategic advantages. This session will examine how Finland compares with its Nordic neighbors, highlighting trends, investment opportunities, and the region’s competitive advantages in attracting global tech players.
How Do We Accelerate Decarbonization?
This presentation is our response to the Net Zero Data Centers RFI, focused on identifying innovative, sustainable, and scalable backup power solutions to support the future of digital infrastructure.
The RISE of braggawatt rack densities for AI infrastructure
Next generation of AI microprocessors and servers are pushing data center power densities toward the deployment of up to a 1MW rack or beyond, which is at a scale that redefines facility design. This talk presents a project at RISE with partners using server emulators to mimic future systems, enabling experimentation, testing and validation before hardware exists. The focus is building power and cooling infrastructure capable of sustaining up to 1MW per rack, from efficient powering, advanced liquid cooling to heat reuse strategies. The objective of the initiative at RISE is to build a demonstration that tackles the challenges of delivering such high power and removing heat efficiently, while minimizing energy losses.
AI Transient load stability, concepts for the electrical power supply.
Breaking the Myths: What to watch when building data centers above the 60th latitude in 2026?
Building data centers above the 60th latitude comes with unique conditions. Northern climates present both challenges and competitive advantages, from ground conditions to seasonal extremes and Finnish peculiarities. In this session, Sakari Jämsä, Director of Data Center and Industrial Construction at Skanska Finland, breaks down the most common myths and offers a snapshot of what to watch when building data centers in Finland. Expect practical insights, real project learnings, and a fresh look at why the far north is an attractive place to invest and build.
Datacenter Changemakers Finland
Episode 2
Back in Helsinki is Datacenter Changemakers Finland, our live talk shows with the people who are changing the face of the data center industry. The most pressing issues facing the digital infrastructure sector will be discussed.
Hosted & moderated by
Liselotte Lyngsø
Founder of Future Navigator
A Sovereign & Secure Finland
As geopolitical tensions rise and data becomes increasingly valuable, industry leaders and policymakers must determine how Europe can stay secure and achieve digital sovereignty. What are the crucial steps that must be taken to ensure Finnish and European data stays secure and accessible? What are the practical challenges of reducing dependency on foreign tech giants while maintaining service quality for end-users, and how can new regulations and investments shape the future of Europe's digital autonomy?
Guests:
Elina Ussa - Managing Director, FiCom
Joonas Mäkinen - Co-founder, Head of Operations, SpaceTime
Antti Nyqvist - Head of Emergency Preparedness, Technology Industries of Finland
Built in Finland: How Hyperco Helped Put Finnish Data Centers on the Map
As Finland emerges as one of Europe’s most talked-about data center markets, Hyperco has been at the center of that shift. This presentation tells the story of how a Finnish developer grew from a local platform builder into one of the country’s most visible data center players, now constructing multiple large-scale campuses — and what that evolution says about Finland’s growing role in the European digital infrastructure landscape. Drawing on firsthand experience from recent large-scale developments, the session will examine what is driving international interest in Finland, what now defines successful data center projects and platforms, and what the market must get right if Finland is to turn today’s momentum into long-term leadership.
Five Data Center Predictions for 2026
Join Tomas Rahkonen for his session on some of the latest developments and challenges currently shaping the industry, looking beyond the more obvious trends of 2026. AI is transforming data center strategies, but its impact remains uneven due to unclear demand, complex infrastructure needs, and long development timelines. Growth in AI workloads will continue to be driven by a small number of large organizations with the resources to deploy high-density systems. Challenges in securing power, managing advanced cooling requirements and capital project delays will persist or intensify. At the same time, AI automation tools will move from pilot projects to operations, delivering measurable efficiency gains. And, as new AI applications begin to show real business value, data center operators will need targeted investments and plan carefully to keep pace.
Ready for the AI age? Internet Exchange based Connectivity as a key to success
Businesses increasingly rely on AI-powered applications to drive and accelerate critical processes. The most overlooked aspect of AI adoption, however, is the demand it places on connectivity infrastructure. This presentation will discuss how to connect AI services across the Nordics, Europe or Worldwide in order to improve performance, increase resilience and flexibility and enhance control over traffic flows.
Credible sustainability data wins data center projects - how LCAs and EPDs drive procurement decisions in the billions
In this session, Panu Pasanen, Founder and CEO of One Click LCA, explores how credible sustainability data is becoming a decisive factor in winning large-scale data center projects. You’ll learn how LCAs and EPDs directly influence procurement decisions worth billions — and what it takes to stay competitive in this rapidly evolving landscape.
The Thermal Wall: Bridging the Gap Between Legacy Cooling and the AI Gigawatt Era
In this session, we will highlight the challenges data centre operators face as new AI chip technologies push thermal loads far beyond the capabilities of many existing facilities. We will explore how traditional cooling systems struggle to keep pace, the implications for both legacy sites and the construction of next generation AI driven data centres, and the growing risks associated with higher density environments. The session will also examine the scalability paradox and the emerging realities of hybrid cooling approaches.
Protecting the Data Center Building Envelope for Decades to Come? Norwegian-Made Leak-Detection Sensors With 30-Years Battery Life
Long-term environmental monitoring is becoming mission-critical, detecting trends that short-term spot checks miss — preventing failures before they impact uptime and allowing long-term data to create defensible sustainability metrics. This session with – Senior Customer Success Manager Bogdan Glogovac and Chief Marketing Officer Eirik Kristiansen – will showcase how into® sensor system for advanced roof-level leak detection & long-term environmental monitoring can resolve such needs by serving a 500MW Hyperscale project in Nordics.
The gold standard in face biometrics. The world's most used identity verification method
Is a plastic card really you? Is a fingerprint the way your family recognizes you? What is the most natural way for you to be known and seen? Discover why our facial biometric solution has quickly become the natural choice for the biggest players in the data center space today. Learn more about the "mobile FaceID for your doors" solution from Alcatraz from Erik Nord, a veteran with over 20 years of experience from the biggest disruptors in the physical security industry.
Datacenters and Urban Energy Systems: The Role of Waste Heat
Datacenters are increasingly part of the urban energy system, not just electricity consumers. In this session, Fortum shares its experience from the Espoo Clean Heat program, where waste heat from hyperscale datacenters is recycled into the district heating network to support large‑scale decarbonisation. The talk also explores how closer collaboration between datacenter operators, energy companies and cities can unlock new opportunities for efficient, circular energy systems in the future.
The Heim Story: Why Execution Will Decide the Next Generation of Data Center Platforms
The next generation of data center platforms will not be defined by ambition, capital, or announcements alone. It will be defined by those who have the real ability to execute — consistently, at speed, and with quality. We have built a successful platform before, and we carry those lessons with us into Heim, but also with the conviction that the next generation will be won by those prepared to build differently and better.
Building Nordic Resilient and Sovereign Infrastructure
This session explores how connectivity underpins resilience in Nordic digital infrastructure. It examines how resiliency has evolved and the key factors in building resilient and sovereign connectivity for scalable, reliable, and future-proof infrastructure, creating foundations for business continuity and long-term societal stability.
Datacenter Changemakers Finland
Episode 3
Back in Helsinki is Datacenter Changemakers Finland, our live talk shows with the people who are changing the face of the data center industry. The most pressing issues facing the digital infrastructure sector will be discussed.
Hosted & moderated by Liselotte Lyngsø, founder of Future Navigator
In this epsiode:
Powering the AI Era: Sustainable Scaling, ESG, and Finland’s Energy Future
As the AI boom drives unprecedented demand for data centers across the Nordics, Finland is emerging at the center of a new energy and infrastructure debate. The region could face mounting pressure on electricity grids, local resources, and community acceptance as development accelerates. At the same time, data centers are no longer just large energy consumers — they are increasingly being viewed as strategic assets that can support grid stability, enable load balancing, and unlock heat reuse in future energy systems.
Can Finland and the Nordics preserve their “green data center” reputation while scaling for the AI era? How will evolving EU sustainability and reporting frameworks, including the Omnibus packages and broader ESG regulation, influence investment, transparency, and operational priorities? And what role can data centers play in shaping a more resilient, secure, and integrated energy system for the future?
Guests include:
John Booth - Consultant, Carbon3IT Ltd
Lauri Pispa - Managing Partner, E-Heat Oy
Sponsors & Partners
