Drax and Brookfield agree GBP20 billion AI data centre investment deal
(Alliance News) - Drax Group PLC on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement to develop a strategic partnership to jointly develop and operate an artificial intelligence data centre on the Drax Power Station estate in the north of England.
The Selby, North Yorkshire-based electricity generator said the agreement with New York-based Brookfield Asset Management Ltd, and Radiant, Brookfield's UK-headquartered AI infrastructure platform, is targeting development of a more than 1 gigawatt data centre at the power station.
This will be staged over three phases. Phase one will target up to 100 megawatts and be operational from the first quarter of 2028, phase two's ambition is to ramp up to an additional 500MW of capacity between 2028 and 2031, and phase three's ambition is to develop additional capacity post 2031.
A planning application for phase one of the project is being prepared and a public consultation process is expected to commence in November.
Brookfield estimates that total potential investment, including semiconductor chips, could exceed GBP20 billion, with an initial GBP2.5 billion as a part of phase one.
Investment capital and operating capabilities will be provided through a Brookfield-Qai AI infrastructure joint venture announced in 2025. Qai is a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund.
The partnership will focus on the development of a data centre which will utilise Drax Power Station's 4GW of grid access and 2.6GW of dispatchable generation capacity.
"If constructed in full, this project could become one of the largest data centres in the UK, with the potential to attract billions in inward investment, supporting the north's re-industrialisation and strengthening sovereign AI capability," said Drax Chief Executive Will Gardiner.
Shares in Drax were up 8.6% at 878.50 pence each in London on Tuesday, the best performing stock in the FTSE 250 index, which was down 0.4%. The stock set an intraday high of 886.00p.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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