Sesterce Plans a €10 Billion AI Campus on the Former Kaipola Paper Mill Site in Jämsä
French AI infrastructure company Sesterce is planning a large-scale Sesterce Campus in Jämsä, on the site of the former Kaipola paper mill. The investment of over €10 billion aims to create a renewable-powered European AI campus and to strengthen Europe's digital infrastructure and competitiveness.
The project will develop supercomputing and computing infrastructure for AI on an existing industrial site, and is expected to significantly strengthen the economic vitality of the area. During construction, the project will employ approximately 2,000 people, and around 300 people once the Sesterce Campus is fully operational. Sesterce is committed to working primarily with Finnish contractors and subcontractors for construction.
"For more than six decades, the Kaipola mill produced paper for the world. Now, a new generation of industry is being planned for the site. Our goal is to preserve the area's industrial identity while making use of existing infrastructure, including the power grid, water systems, buildings and logistics connections," says Youssef El Manssouri, CEO of Sesterce.
In the first phase, with works starting in 2026, the Jämsä campus will have a capacity of 200 MW, which is expected to increase to 600 MW in the second phase of the project. In the long run, the company aims to build more than one gigawatt of AI capacity in Finland, on existing industrial sites and in line with real market demand.
The project is based on real demand and committed workload capacity: Sesterce already has an anchor customer and a strong outlook for the gradual growth of computing demand.
The Sesterce Campus commitments
- For every MW used, a new green MW on the grid. Sesterce commits to enabling one megawatt of new renewable generation capacity within the Finnish power grid for every megawatt consumed by the campus, within ten years of the campus becoming operational. Only newly built generation capacity will qualify.
- No drinking water for cooling. Cooling will rely on a closed-loop liquid system, supplemented with harvested rainwater and recycled water.
- A €10 million community fund. Upon the commissioning of the Jämsä campus, Sesterce will establish a €10 million community fund to finance local projects selected by the City of Jämsä together with local residents.
- A campus open to its community. The site will include facilities open to the public, such as restaurants and education and learning spaces, while the facilities serving the AI infrastructure will remain separate, secure and protected.
Each Sesterce Campus commitment will be measured, audited by an independent third party and reported publicly every year.
"Our planning is based on energy-efficient and flexible operations. The Sesterce Campus projects will use liquid cooling, deliver high energy efficiency and feature controllable and flexible power consumption. Opportunities for utilizing waste heat are also being considered as part of the design," says El Manssouri.
This operating model supports the long-term development of Finland's electricity grid and investment planning. Sesterce is also actively exploring further opportunities for industrial site redevelopment across Finland.
Statements
“Jämsä needs new investments, business activity and jobs. The Sesterce project is an interesting opportunity to strengthen the vitality of the region, provided it progresses from plans to implementation and meets the applicable requirements. The redevelopment of the Kaipola site would be a welcome opportunity to give the area a new lease on life and support job creation in Jämsä. The City wants to advance investment projects in cooperation with businesses and will assess each project carefully as it moves forward”, says Jori Reijula, the Mayor of Jämsä.
“A functioning, reliable and resilient electricity network is a key enabler of vitality, economic growth, and large-scale industrial investments. The Kaipola industrial site is connected to Elenia's high-voltage electricity network, which currently provides a solid foundation for implementing the first phase of the project”, says Jorma Myllymäki, CEO of Elenia.
Additional information (in English):
Youssef El Manssouri, CEO, Sesterce
Interview requests: Fanny Projetti, Chief of Staff, Sesterce,fanny@sesterce.com, +33623369062
About Sesterce
Sesterce is a French AI infrastructure company that develops and operates computing capacity for artificial intelligence. Through its Sesterce Campus model, it develops renewable-powered AI campuses designed with and for their communities. The group has entities in France, the United States and Singapore.
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