Mar 20, 2026 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
Battery and solar panel maker T1 Energy has obtained 50MW of capacity for a Norwegian site originally intended for battery cell production, now planned as a data center.
The company announced this week that Norway’s national grid operator, Statnett, has allocated 50MW of power to T1 Energy’s existing 926,000-square-foot (86,030 sqm) industrial facility in Mo i Rana.
“T1 is building a solar supply chain to deliver scalable, reliable, and low-cost energy in the United States. Our legacy assets in the Nordics could be developed as world-class data centers utilizing the region’s abundant low-cost power and human capital with a strong industrial heritage,” said Daniel Barcelo, T1 Energy’s chairman and CEO
T1 stated that the site is still in the interconnection queue for 396MW of power. The company added that Statnett’s reservation confirmation will help facilitate discussions with potential customers and investors considering the site for long-term strategic development.
The company highlighted that the 50MW of N-0 power will require uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and step-down transformers to support data center operations starting as early as Q2 2027. The temporary power allocation is valid through the end of 2033.
“Access to 50MW is a key step forward. It represents the first phase of a world-class data center development and accelerates our dialogue with parties seeking available, scalable, and secure European AI infrastructure,” added Andreas Bentzen, T1 Energy CTO. “Global AI compute demand is expanding faster than new grid capacity. Strategic locations, such as Mo i Rana, where abundant electricity and industrial infrastructure intersect, are in high demand.”
T1 describes itself as an “energy solutions provider building an integrated US supply chain for solar and batteries.” Previously known as Freyer Battery, the company first announced plans to develop a 120,000 sqm (11,148 sqm) lithium-ion battery factory in the Mo Industrial Park in Mo i Rana, known as Giga Arctic, in 2022. The site was to develop 29GWh of battery capacity annually at full build-out.
In 2023, however, the company announced a pause to construction of the factory. In the hopes of establishing a “competitive regulatory framework conditions for scaling battery manufacturing” with Norwegian and European regulators.
After T1 abandoned plans for the battery factory, Statnett revoked the company’s grid reservation, resulting in the loss of roughly 60MW of capacity. The move was supported by Norway’s Energy Regulatory Authority (RME) in December, but T1 is appealing the decision and has indicated it may pursue legal action to reclaim the capacity.
