Google will invest €5 billion (US$5.8 billion) in Belgium to expand its data centre campus in St. Ghislain and create 300 full-time jobs.
The Alphabet subsidiary also announced new carbon-free energy agreements and support for local artificial intelligence (AI) skilling programs.
The announcement brings Google’s investment in Belgium to more than €11 billion since breaking ground on its first data centre in St. Ghislain in 2007.
Google said the expenditure in 2026 and 2027 would extend its AI capabilities to meet growing demand for its Google Cloud suite of cloud computing services and power other services like Search, Maps and Workspace.
Google Global Infrastructure Vice President Bikash Koley said the announcement deepened the company’s roots, extended its investments in Belgium, and created new avenues for “AI-driven transformation”.
“Our investments in technical infrastructure and AI skills development help ensure people across Belgium and across Europe have access to opportunity in this exciting era of European innovation,” Koley said in a statement.
The St. Ghislain facility is part of Google’s global network of 42 regions that provide services used by businesses and organisations to build and scale AI-powered solutions.
Google also announced deals with Eneco, Luminus and Renner of more than 110 megawatts (MW) to advance its ambition to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) on every grid where it operates.
Since it began purchasing renewable energy in 2010, Google has signed wind and solar agreements in Europe totalling more than 4.5 gigawatts of clean energy generation capacity.
Alphabet shares (NASDAQ: GOOG) closed $1.67 (0.68%) lower at US$245.46, capitalising the company a $12.97 trillion.
