Drax has announced a new strategic partnership to jointly develop, deliver and operate a GW-scale data centre at its power station in North Yorkshire.

The partnership with Brookfield, Radiant and Qai represents a total £20bn investment, with the initial phase expected to create 100MW of capacity.

Drax Power Station is at the heart of UK energy security and has supported the country’s growth for over 50 years, powering millions of homes and businesses and employing generations of local workers. 

The new partnership aligns to the Government’s AI sovereignty and reindustrialisation ambitions. It represents the next chapter in the site’s role meeting national electricity demand and supporting Yorkshire and the UK’s economies and it can help deliver a long-term future for the power station.

Drax Group CEO’s Will Gardiner said: “We are proud to be partnering with leading AI infrastructure providers on this project which can help secure the long-term future of the site and protect hundreds of jobs, maintain a critical source of this country’s energy security, support northern growth and enable us to continue delivering for our local communities.

“This country has a unique opportunity to bring together AI leadership, energy infrastructure and industrial renewal to drive national growth. If constructed in full, this project could become one of the largest data centres in the UK, attracting billions in inward investment, supporting the North’s reindustrialisation and strengthening sovereign AI capability.

“Drax Power Station is one of the few UK sites that can provide large-scale reliable power directly to data centre customers by utilising existing and underutilised generation capacity. We welcome the Government’s recognition that strategically important data centres need faster access to power and planning. The priority now must be turning that ambition into delivery, so projects like this can move at the pace the UK needs to compete for global AI investment.”