Microsoft has announced a new agreement valued at over $6 billion with AI hyperscaler Nscale and industrial investment company Aker. This collaboration aims to provide Microsoft with computing power from a large-scale AI infrastructure project in Northern Norway, entirely powered by renewable energy. According to Microsoft, the five-year agreement will deliver sustainable AI infrastructure across Europe to address the exponentially growing demand for efficient, scalable, and sustainable AI compute power.
In 2020, Microsoft launched a series of ambitious sustainability goals, including commitments to become carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030, as well as to protect more land than it uses by that date. However, the company’s carbon footprint has increased since then, primarily due to the significant growth in data centres required to meet rising AI computing demands. Earlier this year, Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Melanie Nakagawa, acknowledged that the rapid expansion of AI has posed challenges to the company’s sustainability objectives.
In response, Microsoft has invested heavily in carbon removal solutions and introduced various measures to address its value chain emissions. These include a policy requiring some key suppliers to use 100% carbon-free electricity and the launch of a new supplier decarbonisation team focused on tackling emissions from cloud and AI operations.
Jon Tinter, President of Business Development and Ventures for Microsoft, expressed enthusiasm for the agreement, stating that it would provide the latest and most advanced AI services from Microsoft to customers across Europe. He praised Nscale and Aker for their efforts in building cutting-edge, sustainable AI infrastructure, adding that this facility strengthens Microsoft’s cloud offerings in Europe and demonstrates the company’s commitment to its customers on the continent.
The agreement follows the establishment of a joint venture between Nscale and Aker in July 2025 to launch “Stargate Norway,” a significant AI infrastructure project. The project aims to deploy 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs by the end of 2026, powered by renewable energy, and designed to provide secure, scalable, and energy-efficient infrastructure for AI workloads across Europe. The project’s location was selected for its abundant hydropower, low local electricity demand, cool climate, and established industrial infrastructure. The contract, valued at approximately $6.2 billion, will be delivered in staged deployments beginning in 2026.
Øyvind Eriksen, President & CEO of Aker, highlighted the significance of the agreement with Microsoft, describing it as a milestone for the joint venture with Nscale and for Norway’s role in enabling sovereign AI infrastructure. He emphasised the ambition to convert clean hydropower into strategic digital capacity, positioning Narvik as a launchpad for Europe’s sovereign cloud. With trusted infrastructure, renewable power, and industrial readiness, Norway is poised to enter a new era of digital, secure, and globally relevant value creation.
