LMD to Develop New Data Center at Sunnfjord Næringspark

28th September 2026

Lefdal Mine Datacenter (LMD) is acquiring Titan Group AS and will develop and operate the planned data center at Sunnfjord Næringspark. LMD has built a data center of the same size (80 MW) in Nordfjord and now wants to establish new industry in the Førde area as well.

Approximately NOK 9 billion will be invested during the three-year construction phase, and more than 100 jobs will be created during the operational phase, in addition to service agreements with local suppliers. The company aims to be a regional development partner and wants as much of the investment as possible to be channeled through companies in Sunnfjord. In Nordfjord, 70 percent of the investments have been made through local suppliers.

There is currently strong interest in Norway from data center operators seeking to establish themselves in the country. We believe it is likely that only a few of these data centers will actually be built. The municipalities that succeed will gain new industry, knowledge-intensive jobs and future-oriented value creation in their regions. We can demonstrate this in Nordfjord, where we have carried out an economic impact analysis based on what has been achieved so far. The analysis is summarized below.

We have financed and built one of Europe’s leading data centers in Nordfjord, and we operate it. Through this, we have acquired the expertise and financial capacity to continue growing. We want to develop regions by establishing permanent jobs and building expertise. We have assessed several locations in Norway and believe Sunnfjord Næringspark is an ideal location. It is close enough for us to make use of the expertise we already have, but far enough away for us to establish a new value chain and supplier industry. We look forward to contributing to the development of Sunnfjord.

- Jørn Skaane, Managing Director of LMD

We have worked on the Moskog project in close cooperation with Sunnfjord Municipality for several years. Eventually, we reached a point where we wanted to hand the baton to an operator that could take the project forward and be responsible for its long-term development. Several interested parties have been involved in the process, but in the end the choice fell on Lefdal Mine Datacenter. One of the reasons was their clear strategy of using local businesses, as well as their proven ability to create long-term jobs and build a professional and financially sound company.

- Thomas Gribbestad and Thor Arne Ullaland, former owners of Titan Group AS

Economic impact analysis of Nordfjord: what could the establishment mean for Sunnfjord?

At the request of LMD, Menon Economics has calculated the economic impact of the development and operation of LMD in Nordfjord. The main analysis is based on actual figures for operations and investments associated with the data center, making the analysis more precise than most economic impact analyses.

At the end of 2025, LMD’s operations supported 120 full-time equivalent jobs at the data center and throughout the supplier chain. This is expected to increase to 230 full-time equivalent jobs when LMD has 200 MW in operation. At the same time, the volume of operational deliveries from LMD’s subcontractors is increasing. At the operational stage with 80 MW of capacity, LMD is expected to support NOK 1.2 billion in annual value creation at the data center and among its suppliers.

A large local share of investments

Around 70 percent of direct deliveries have been carried out by local companies in Nordfjord. Key suppliers within electrical work, automation, cooling, construction and operations are all based in the Nordfjord area. In interviews with Menon Economics, they report that deliveries to LMD have accounted for approximately 30 to 60 percent of their turnover during the period.

Several of those interviewed point to the same trend regarding the use of local suppliers and describe close interaction with the regional supplier market during the development phase. Several suppliers report that they have invested in capacity and equipment in connection with deliveries to LMD, including new production facilities costing “several tens of millions of kroner”, as well as machinery, vehicles and construction equipment to handle additional assignments. This contributes to a large share of the employment and value-creation effects from the development benefiting the municipalities in the surrounding area.

Continuous operations require broad technical expertise

High uptime requirements make it necessary to have technical personnel at the data center around the clock. Although the number of employees per MW is at a level comparable to energy-intensive industry, the data center requires a different skills profile. Operations are organized around the requirement for continuous uptime, with a need for monitoring, emergency preparedness and maintenance around the clock.

Shift-based operations technicians therefore typically constitute the largest employee group. They handle alarms, monitor systems, carry out testing and maintain critical infrastructure. The skills requirements are multidisciplinary and include electrical engineering, automation, mechanical engineering, cooling technology and data electronics. Together with security personnel, they staff the facility around the clock in shifts to ensure stable operations. In addition, the business requires support functions within administration, project management and regulatory compliance. This staffing structure reflects both the technological complexity of the facility and the requirements for operational security and risk management.

LMD helps develop local expertise

According to interviews conducted by Menon Economics with LMD’s main suppliers, the region had previously had limited access to the expertise required to operate data centers of this type. Data center operations combine disciplines such as electrical engineering, cooling technology, fiber and networking, automation and operations technology across traditional trade boundaries. This combination is only to a limited extent covered by traditional vocational training programmes.

To ensure access to the necessary workforce over time, LMD and its suppliers have contributed to building local expertise. The largest suppliers report that they continuously have apprentices working at the facility, typically within electrical trades, cooling technology, automation and construction. Interviews with Eid Upper Secondary School show that apprenticeship positions at LMD have been attractive among students in the region. The apprentices gain experience from a technically complex facility operating according to international standards.

The work never ends: continuous renewal of equipment and infrastructure

As the amount of installed equipment grows, the volume of replacements at the data center also increases. Data center infrastructure is renewed in cycles of four to five years. Renewal is driven by technological development, energy-efficiency requirements and changing customer needs.

LMD’s own renewal programme includes cooling and ventilation systems, power supply, networking, security solutions and the refurbishment of data halls. The IT equipment itself is owned by the customers and is not included in LMD’s investments. Nevertheless, when customers replace and upgrade servers and other equipment, this creates activity at the facility through installation, logistics and preparation of the data halls.

LMD’s role in national digital infrastructure

The Norwegian government’s national data center strategy identifies three overarching objectives: Norwegian data centers should contribute to local value creation, promote national security and be sustainable. LMD contributes to these objectives through local activity in Nordfjord and Sunnfjord, a customer portfolio that includes organizations within research and critical infrastructure, and a solution based on the use of renewable electricity and the reuse of waste heat.