NEWS  •  12 MAY 2026

Polar Data Centers Expands Norwegian Footprint with 40 MW AI-Ready Facility at Herøya

LONDON / PORSGRUNN — 12 May 2026

Polar Data Centers has announced a new AI-ready data centre development at Herøya Industrial Park in Porsgrunn, Norway. The facility, designated HER01, will deliver an initial capacity of 40 MW powered entirely by renewable hydroelectric energy, and forms the latest phase of the company's expanding Norwegian infrastructure portfolio.

Project at a Glance

Project name HER01

Location Herøya Industrial Park, Porsgrunn — approx. 130 km from Oslo

Site area 39,000 m²

Initial capacity 40 MW

Power source 100% renewable hydroelectric energy

PUE target 1.12

Tier standard Tier 3

Cooling Advanced liquid cooling, high-density rack configurations

Workload focus AI and high-performance computing (HPC)

Construction status Site ready for construction

Strategic Location

The Herøya site sits within an established industrial park in Telemark county, approximately 130 kilometres south of Oslo. The location offers direct access to the Norwegian hydroelectric grid, a cool climate suited to energy-efficient operations, and a workforce base serving the surrounding industrial region. Herøya Industrial Park already hosts a range of energy-intensive industries, meaning the site benefits from existing heavy power infrastructure and industrial zoning.

The facility's design targets a PUE of 1.12 — well below the European data centre average of around 1.5 — reflecting the efficiency gains available through Norway's ambient climate and purpose-built liquid cooling architecture.

“Our Herøya development represents the next step of our expansion strategy in Norway. By continuing to invest in locations that combine renewable energy, strong connectivity, and favourable environmental conditions, we are building a platform that enables our customers to deploy AI infrastructure at scale, sustainably and efficiently.”
 Andy Hayes, CEO, Polar Data Centers

AI-First Infrastructure Design

HER01 is designed from the ground up for AI and HPC workloads. The facility will feature advanced liquid cooling systems and high-density rack configurations engineered specifically for the thermal and power demands of GPU-heavy AI infrastructure — a direct response to the rapid increase in rack power densities driven by next-generation AI accelerators.

Polar's AI-first approach is intended to reduce deployment timelines for customers while enabling higher density than traditional enterprise data centre designs. Built to Tier 3 standards, HER01 will offer the redundancy and uptime guarantees required for mission-critical AI operations.

“The new site in Herøya is in a highly strategic location, with access to abundant sustainable power and a highly skilled local workforce. We look forward to working closely with the Kommune of Porsgrunn, Herøya Industrial Park and local businesses to deliver a world class facility.”
 Paul Hicks, VP of Acquisitions, Polar Data Centers

Part of a Broader Norwegian Strategy

HER01 is the latest in a series of Norwegian data centre investments by Polar, which has been building out a portfolio of AI-ready facilities across the country. The announcement reflects the broader trend of European data centre investment shifting northward, as operators and hyperscalers seek renewable power, competitive energy costs and land availability outside saturated FLAP-D markets.

Norway's data centre sector is on a significant growth trajectory. According to a September 2025 report by THEMA Consulting Group for the Norwegian Data Center Industry, electricity demand from data centres in Norway is expected to grow from 1.6 TWh in 2024 to 18 TWh by 2040 — a tenfold increase — driven by AI adoption, cloud migration and the increasing constraints facing data centre development in Central and Western Europe.

About Polar Data Centers

Polar Data Centers develops and operates sustainable, high-performance data centers optimized for AI and high-density computing workloads. The company specializes in energy-efficient facilities powered by renewable sources, serving AI and technology companies across Europe.

Source: Polar Data Centers press release, 12 May 2026 — polardc.com