Building the backbone of the digital energy transition

The digital economy is often described in terms of data, software and algorithms. Yet behind every cloud service, artificial intelligence model and streamed meeting lies physical infrastructure. In the Nordics, Bulk Infrastructure is shaping that foundation by connecting data centres, energy systems and transatlantic fibre, and doing so in close contact with partners such as DNV to support the energy transition and enable new renewable energy development with lasting value for local communities.

Digital growth is physical, not abstract

The digital world may feel intangible, but it rests on concrete assets: land, substations, fibre routes and power capacity.

Bulk Infrastructure, a Nordic developer of data centres and transatlantic fibre infrastructure, has built its strategy around that reality. Rather than treating data centres as isolated digital assets, the company frames them as part of a wider industrial system that must work in harmony with energy production, grids and communities.

“If you want to use the Nordics as the foundation for a new power intensive industry, you have to think industrially,” says Jon Gravråk, Chief Executive Officer of Bulk Infrastructure. “You must think long term, think about value creation - not only for the company, but for society as well.”

This thinking marks a departure from earlier waves of digital expansion, which largely ignored energy systems until constraints emerged.

From data centre operator to industrial actor

Bulk’s leadership position is defined by scale and how it grows.

The company has invested early in locations where surplus renewable energy, strong grid infrastructure and global connectivity coincide. This has included early commitments to Nordic and transatlantic fibre routes, designed to ensure robust data connectivity between Europe and North America.

The ambition is not simply to host data, but to support the systems that increasingly underpin modern economies - from financial services and logistics to healthcare, manufacturing and public administration.

“If we want a digital society, we need data centres,” Gravråk says. “The real discussion should be how we develop a profitable industrial model that uses power responsibly and strengthens the societies it depends on.”

This framing places data centres firmly within industrial policy rather than on its margins.

Data centres as part of the energy system

At the heart of Bulk’s approach lies a simple proposition: digital infrastructure and energy infrastructure are no longer separate domains.

“The digital society is electricity,” Gravråk explains. “It is power flowing through transistors and chips. The future depends on where we produce electricity, how we transport it, where we process data, and how we move that data.”

This thinking shapes Bulk’s site selection strategy. Large scale data centres are intentionally located near renewable power generation and existing grid capacity, rather than in major cities where electricity systems are already constrained.

It also underpins the company’s use of long term power purchase agreements (PPAs), designed to enable new renewable generation rather than rely solely on existing supply.

FACT BOX: Between 2020 and 2030, Bulk aims to expand its operational scale by up to 100 times, driven primarily by growth in data centre capacity and global fibre connectivity.

Flexibility, heat and system responsibility

As data centre activity grows, so does scrutiny of their energy use and surplus heat. Bulk addresses this directly. Like all power intensive industries, data centres generate heat. The critical question is how that heat is used.

Rather than defaulting to urban heat reuse solutions that can strain local grids, Bulk promotes industrial co location, where data centres support neighbouring industries that require stable heat inputs, such as food processing, greenhouses or manufacturing.

This approach requires planning horizons measured in decades, rather than individual project cycles.

Why partnerships shape resilience

As digital infrastructure becomes critical to society, technical assurance, risk management and public trust become strategic concerns. This is where collaboration with partners includuing DNV plays a central role.

DNV brings global expertise in energy systems, safety, risk and technical assurance. These capabilities are increasingly essential in a sector navigating rapid growth alongside rising regulatory and societal expectations.

“Digital infrastructure now sits at the intersection of energy, security and public trust,” says Ida Coert, Market Area Manager Norway, Energy Systems at DNV. “Our role is to help ensure that growth is resilient, technically sound and aligned with the long term stability of energy systems.”

For Bulk, these partnerships are not transactional.“You don’t need to receive your payslip from Bulk to be part of Bulk,” Gravråk notes. “What matters is whether you fully take part in building something that lasts.”

This inclusive approach extends to consultants, technical experts and advisers who are brought into the company’s cultural and strategic conversations.

Regulation and the need for balance

Energy intensive digital infrastructure operates in the public eye. Bulk supports regulation, while cautioning against fragmented or reactive policy measures that address individual symptoms rather than the system as a whole. Electricity taxes, permitting regimes and heat reuse requirements all shape investment decisions, and poorly aligned rules risk undermining long-term energy security.

Working alongside organizations like DNV strengthens Bulk’s ability to engage constructively with policymakers, grounding discussions in facts, system dynamics and long term risk rather than short term optics.

From infrastructure to societal licence

Ultimately, Bulk’s strategy reflects a belief that infrastructure projects succeed only when they earn long term legitimacy, through robust engineering, secure operations, local value creation and a credible contribution to the energy transition.

“We have to act as cornerstone businesses,” Gravråk says. “That means creating local value, building competence, and showing that we are not just consumers of power but enablers of something larger.”

Building infrastructure fit for the future

As artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital services continue to expand, the physical foundations beneath them will matter more, not less.

Bulk’s industrial, energy-integrated and partnership-driven approach offers a model for how digital infrastructure can support both economic growth and the energy transition. Working alongside partners such as DNV, the company is helping ensure that the backbone of the digital economy is resilient, secure and trusted enough to support the societies that increasingly rely on it.

For decision makers across industry, energy and policy, the message is clear: the future will be digital - but it must also be deliberate, resilient and responsibly built.