Verne Targets 2028 for First Phase of Iceland Expansion

Verne is targeting the first quarter of 2028 for the first phase of a major expansion at its Keflavík data-center campus in Iceland, following municipal approvals for groundwork and building plans.

The timetable emerged from a presentation by Verne’s Iceland managing director, Styrmir Hafliðason, at a local business and construction forum, according to an October 10 report by Víkurfréttir. The report described groundwork as expected in the coming weeks.

A phased addition to an existing campus

Known as VDC04, the addition is planned at Valhallarbraut 868 in Ásbrú, beside Verne’s operating campus. The company’s July announcement described a potential expansion for artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and other data-intensive workloads, with a supplier event intended to draw in local contractors.

The application describes three 40-megawatt phases across 2026–2028. Its stated electricity demand is up to 120 MW for hosting computer systems, with cooling and other infrastructure drawing additional power. The figure describes the proposed addition; it does not measure the output of an operating facility.

The first-phase target reported in October is more specific than the application’s broader horizon. The documents do not establish that later phases will be delivered at the same time.

The approvals so far

Reykjanesbær’s planning council approved Verne Global ehf.’s groundwork request on June 19. The municipal record places VDC04 to the east of the existing campus. On September 8, the building officer approved plans for 23,998 square metres at the same address.

Three days later, Iceland’s environmental appeal board rejected a challenge to the June determination that the project did not require a full environmental impact assessment. That resolved the screening appeal, without establishing that all permissions needed for operation had been issued.

The records reviewed do not establish an actual construction start, energized capacity or a customer-service date.

Platform backing, undisclosed project spending

Verne is owned by Ardian, which completed its acquisition of the platform in March 2024. At the time, Ardian announced up to $1.2 billion in equity-and-debt investment to support expansion across Northern Europe.

That commitment covers a wider business than Keflavík. The reviewed disclosures do not allocate it to VDC04 or say how much has been spent on the addition. Verne’s current investor page continues to identify Ardian, a private investment house primarily owned by management and employees.

For the Iceland project, the early-2028 target now gives readers a phase-specific milestone to follow. Construction progress, electricity-service terms and the first commissioning record will provide the clearest evidence of delivery.