Stargate: Europe's fastest supercomputer is being built in Norway
Two Norwegian companies are building Europe's first giant data center for OpenAI. An initial sum of one billion US dollars is to be invested.
Render image of a fictitious server.
(Image: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com)
Norwegian server manufacturer Nscale is building a supercomputer for OpenAI in northern Norway. The first phase is due to be completed by the end of 2026 and will use 100,000 AI accelerators from Nvidia. The first phase will require around 230 megawatts of electrical power.
Aker ASA joins as an investor. Nscale and Aker ASA are sharing the construction costs of around one billion US dollars, for which they intend to establish a joint subsidiary. Nscale, Aker and OpenAI will jointly use the supercomputer, which will run OpenAI's AI models, among other things. The three companies emphasize that the system is intended for European customers and should adhere 100% to EU regulations.
Although the parties involved call the project "Stargate Norway", this site is also being built without the Japanese investor Softbank. Strictly speaking, it is therefore not part of the originally announced Stargate project.
(Image:Â Nscale)
Powered by hydropower
The supercomputer is being built in Kvandal near Narvik. According to the announcement, there is a surplus of energy from hydropower there so that Nscale can operate the entire system with renewable energy. The hot water from the water cooling system will be used to heat buildings in the surrounding area.
The parties involved are not revealing exactly which hardware will be used. Nvidia plans to present its next generation GPU Rubin and the associated ARM processor Vera in 2026. However, it is questionable whether Stargate Norway will receive such large quantities of Rubin right at the start. Otherwise, Nscale would have to fall back on the current Blackwell generation or Blackwell Ultra.
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Over two gigawatts possible
A second phase with an additional energy budget of 290 megawatts is already being considered. In principle, the site should even be suitable for a tenfold increase in energy capacity. That would be 2.3 gigawatts.
For comparison: Europe's fastest supercomputer is currently the JĂĽlich Jupiter Booster. It achieves almost 800 FP64 petaflops of computing power with an electrical power consumption of 13.1 megawatts. On completion, it is expected to exceed one exaflop at 18 megawatts. Stargate Norway is expected to outperform the system by a factor of 13 in terms of energy in the first phase alone.
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