ATNORTH
Iceland, where it established its first operations in 2009. In addition to its four other operational sites across Finland and Sweden, it is about to open its first Danish site, with a second under development, as well as additional facilities planned in Finland and Sweden.“ We have also secured additional land in Sweden that is earmarked for a future megasite and have many sites under evaluation in Norway too”.
Anna’ s engineering background influences her structured approach to scaling operations. She emphasises the importance of learning from mistakes quickly and applying those lessons systematically across future projects, saying“ we only make a mistake once and learn from it – it is essential for innovation”.
The rapid pace of expansion requires careful planning and modular thinking. atNorth’ s leadership team constantly evaluates which processes can be streamlined and scaled effectively. This approach ensures that hard-won operational knowledge translates into improved efficiency across all new developments – whilst also making sure that new facilities are delivering genuine value.
“ In everything that I do, especially when we are doing something new, I try to always put myself in the seat of the customer to see if we are going in the right direction,” Anna explains.
The Nordic region offers unique advantages for data centre operations, but renewable power is the most desirable for atNorth.
“ WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED WITH A GOOD FOUNDATION SO THAT WE MEET CHANGING NEEDS RAPIDLY AND BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF APPLYING INNOVATION”
Anna Pálsdóttir, Chief Development Officer, atNorth
“ Sustainability is not a tick box item for atNorth. It’ s not something we are trying to fit into our business model or trying to see how we can do better – it is the foundation of what we do,” Anna says.“ Our responsible approach starts at the planning and site selection phase. It means that we do not start a new project unless we have an opportunity to harness heat reuse. This extends throughout the site development right through to thinking about how we are going to fit into the communities in which we operate.”
She adds:“ This is our business – being responsible, constantly improving our footprint and working on basically being net carbon neutral into the future.”
88 October 2025