The opening ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander Stubb, alongside government officials, partners, customers and employees. The event included a panel discussion between President Stubb and Nokia President and CEO Justin Hotard on the role of technology in shaping Europe’s future.
“This investment is great news and it’s a statement that it pays off to invest in Finland. It also says that network infrastructure is key – when you’re working on 5G or 6G, you’re creating the neural network of whatever we do in artificial intelligence, whatever we do in robotization or Internet of Things,” said Alexander Stubb, President of the Republic of Finland.
Justin Hotard, President and CEO of Nokia, added: “Our teams in Oulu are shaping the future of 5G and 6G developing our most advanced radio networks. Oulu has a unique ecosystem that integrates Nokia’s R&D and smart manufacturing with an ecosystem of partners – including universities, start-ups and NATO’s DIANA test center. Oulu embodies our culture of innovation and the new campus will be essential to advancing connectivity necessary to power the AI supercycle.”
The campus will house around 3,000 experts and includes advanced radio laboratory and manufacturing facilities. It will initially focus on 5G projects including standardisation, system-on-chip design, radio hardware and software, as well as patents, with the Oulu factory targeting new production introduction for Nokia’s 5G radio and baseband products.
The facility incorporates one of the world’s largest CO2-based district heating and cooling plants, with surplus renewable energy used to heat 20,000 households in Oulu. The site, spanning 55,000 square metres, was constructed by YIT with architectural design by Arkkitehtitoimisto ALA.
