Adds OpenAI, Nvidia, capacity, share price in paragraphs 3-5, 7-8, 11

OSLO, July 31 (Reuters) - Norway's Aker ASA AKER.OL said on Thursday it was partnering with Nscale Global Holdings and OpenAI to build a large artificial intelligence facility in northern Norway, aiming to install 100,000 Nvidia NVDA.O processors by the end of 2026.

The partnership, called Stargate Norway, will be fully powered by renewable energy, Norwegian conglomerate Aker said in a joint statement with Nscale and OpenAI.

The centre is the first in Europe under OpenAI's Stargate programme and follows the recent announcement of similar-sized Stargate UAE in the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. tech firm said.

"This is one of the most ambitious AI infrastructure investments in Europe to date," OpenAI said in a blog post on its website.

Aker ASA's shares rose 4.1% by 0715 GMT.

Nscale and Aker will jointly own Stargate Norway, investing about $1 billion for the initial phase of the project and with the potential to increase the site's capacity tenfold in future phases, they said.

"As OpenAI customers, Aker and Nscale will benefit from local access to models and AI services delivered via sovereign infrastructure," the companies said in their statement.

The facility will run on Nvidia's advanced GB300 Superchip processors, connected by the U.S. company's high-speed NVLink network technology, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a video presentation on the project.

The facility, located in a hydropower-rich region of Norway, will be among the first AI gigafactories in Europe, Nscale CEO Josh Payne said in the statement.

"Sovereign, scalable and sustainable infrastructure is now essential to remain competitive," he added.

Stargate Norway is projected to consume an electrical power capacity of 230 megawatts (MW) for its operation, with ambitions to expand by an additional 290 MW, the companies said.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Louise Rasmussen and Kate Mayberry)

((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com; +47 918 666 70))