In short
- The Narvik campus was announced in July 2025 as Stargate Norway, OpenAI’s first data center project in Europe: 230 MW at first, with ambitions to add 290 MW more, and a goal of 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of 2026.
- On 14 April 2026, Nscale said Microsoft would take more than 30,000 Nvidia Rubin GPUs at the 230 MW campus, with delivery in 2027. OpenAI said it would not buy the capacity directly, and says it can use it through Microsoft. TIME reports the builder dropped the Stargate name.
- We found no announcement that any of the Narvik campus is operating as of 31 October 2026.
How we work
We stick to documented facts, and we say whose numbers they are: the companies’, governments’, analysts’ estimates, or press reports. The narration in the video is an AI-generated voice.
Who is who
Nscale is a London-based AI infrastructure company led by Josh Payne, and it leads the project. Aker is a Norwegian industrial investment firm. The two formed a 50/50 joint venture; Nscale’s April 2026 release says the joint venture has been rolled up and the project is solely managed by Nscale. Microsoft is the customer. OpenAI was announced as the initial off-taker and says it can still use the capacity through Microsoft. Nvidia supplies the chips. Press reports say Nscale has filed for a U.S. stock listing.
The numbers
At announcement the campus was described as 230 MW at first, with ambitions to add 290 MW more; TIME reports the full facility could use up to 520 MW. The very first phase was 20 MW, about $1 billion, committed by Nscale and Aker. The original goal was 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of 2026. On cost, Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon estimated more than $10 billion for the original plan, as reported by TIME; Nscale says chips are 60 to 80 percent of the build cost and has not given a total.
Why Narvik
The campus is planned to run on renewable energy from the region’s hydropower. TIME reports Nscale secured electricity at 4 to 5 cents per unit, against about 10 cents across Europe, and that northern Norway has roughly one gigawatt of spare power according to the grid operator. The July 2025 release said closed-loop liquid cooling was expected; we have seen no detailed design since.
What has been built
TIME visited the site in March 2026: about 350 workers, at least 1,500 expected, half a hillside blasted for the data-hall platform, and an $11 million wall for hard rock. On 2 September 2026, the Norwegian builder HENT, a subsidiary of Sentia, said it won work on two more buildings, 75 MW together, bringing its total to three buildings and 100 MW, with completion expected in 2027.
The money
In September 2025, Microsoft announced a five-year agreement, valued at an estimated $6.2 billion, for AI capacity from Nscale and Aker in Narvik, with services delivered in stages starting in 2026. Nscale has since announced $790 million in financing for the campus from a group of banks including DNB, Nordea and SEB and Norway’s export finance agency. A second $790 million, uncommitted, would fund a further 115 MW. An uncommitted accordion is an option, not a loan.
In April, the plan changed
On 14 April 2026, Nscale announced Microsoft was expanding its Narvik agreement to more than 30,000 Nvidia Rubin GPUs at the 230 MW campus, with delivery in 2027. An OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC, as reported by Techzine, that OpenAI would not buy the capacity directly. Bloomberg reported that talks between OpenAI and Nscale had not reached an agreement. OpenAI said its Norway plans still move forward and that it can use the capacity through Microsoft. A week earlier, OpenAI had paused its Stargate UK project, which Nscale also develops, according to press reports.
How much is running
We found no announcement that any of the Narvik campus is operating. The original target was 100,000 GPUs by the end of 2026; the April release says more than 30,000, delivered in 2027. Nscale’s power contract with Vattenfall covers 2027 through 2031, and the companies say operations are expected to begin in 2027. HENT also expects its buildings to be finished in 2027. These are the companies’ own dates.
The electrical side
Running flat out, 230 MW uses about as much energy in a year as roughly 187,000 average U.S. homes, using the 2022 EIA household average of 10,791 kWh per year. That is our arithmetic, not a company number. Power is also the main limit on growth: the Vattenfall contract covers a significant portion of the first phase, but the companies have not said how much; TIME reports groundwork for a second, larger phase assuming the power permit is granted; for another planned site near Bodø, an Aker Horizons executive said the project was waiting for a power allocation from Statnett; and an analyst quoted by TIME expects northern Norway’s power prices to roughly double within two to three years.
One more thing: Glomfjord
On 15 October, Bloomberg reported that another Nscale site in Norway, Glomfjord, is about six months behind, with 6.4 of a planned 30 MW running, after cooling leaks, a December fire and construction delays. Glomfjord is a different, smaller site. It is not the Narvik campus. Nscale declined to comment, citing the quiet period before its planned U.S. listing, and we found no company statement on whether the delays affect Narvik. We read the Bloomberg report through secondary summaries, because the original is behind a paywall.
What is Narvik, really?
It started as the first Stargate in Europe. It is now a Microsoft-anchored campus built by Nscale, where OpenAI is a customer of a customer: the same hardware and hydropower, a different name and a different contract. A brand like Stargate tells you who announced a project, not who pays, who builds, or when the power turns on. Those you check in the contracts, the permits and the megawatts.
What we’re watching
- Whether Nscale or Microsoft announce any capacity live at Narvik.
- Whether the second-phase power permit is granted.
- What Nscale’s listing filings say about delivery risk.
Sources
- Nscale, Aker and OpenAI to establish Stargate Norway (31 Jul 2025) Primary source , Nscale
- Nscale announces expanded deal with Microsoft in Norway (14 Apr 2026) Primary source , Nscale
- The port town in Norway emerging as an AI hub (17 Sep 2025) Primary source , Microsoft Source EMEA
- Inside Nscale's massive AI data center above the Arctic Circle (4 Jun 2026) TIME
- OpenAI scales back Stargate in Europe; Microsoft fills the gap (15 Apr 2026) Techzine Global (citing CNBC)
- Stargate Norway: OpenAI out, Microsoft in (15 Apr 2026) Datacenter Forum (citing Bloomberg)
- Nscale secures $790m in financing for Norway data center project (2026) Data Center Dynamics
- Nscale inks PPA with Vattenfall to power Kvandal data center in Norway Data Center Dynamics
- Aker Nscale plans another data center in Narvik, Norway Data Center Dynamics
- Sentia subsidiary HENT signs contract for expansion of Nscale's data center in the Narvik region (2 Sep 2026) Primary source , Sentia / HENT (company release)
- Nscale's data center delays put delivery risks in focus ahead of IPO (16 Oct 2026, summarizing Bloomberg) TheEnergyMag (citing Bloomberg)
- Nscale's AI data center in Glomfjord, Norway, is six months late Kaiku (citing Bloomberg)
Updates and corrections
No updates or corrections since publication.