Carbon3.ai has announced plans to convert legacy industrial and energy sites into a nationwide network of low-carbon, AI-ready data centres. 

The £1 billion programme will see the company build a UK-jurisdiction compute network of its own design. The aim is to provide high-performance, low-carbon compute for enterprise, research and public services, with all infrastructure and data processing located in the UK and subject to domestic regulatory oversight.

Carbon3.ai says it has completed a proof of concept and is moving towards a full rollout beginning with a 5MW site in the East Midlands. Other sites will come online soon after, with the firm having already submitted planning permission for a second facility in Derbyshire. 

As part of its scale-up, Carbon3.ai has appointed Sana Khareghani, former Head of the UK Government Office for Artificial Intelligence, as Chief Strategy Officer to lead national AI infrastructure strategy and ensure the network supports the UK’s digital competitiveness and energy transition.

Tom Humphreys, CEO of Carbon3.ai, noted, “If the UK is to lead in AI, we must first secure the foundations that make it possible: compute, power, and data. Carbon3 is building those foundations here at home, transforming legacy energy sites into a sovereign, renewable, AI-ready infrastructure network. This isn’t a vision on paper, we’re making it happen now on the ground. By putting critical infrastructure back under UK control, we’re creating sustainable capacity and national capability that will power innovation, research, and enterprise for decades to come.

“The UK’s competitiveness in AI depends on infrastructure that is truly sovereign, sustainable, and resilient. It’s not enough to invest in data centres, we need a national backbone for AI that’s owned, powered, and secured right here at home. Our goal is to ensure that British enterprise, researchers, and public institutions have access to world-class compute capacity without relying on foreign-controlled infrastructure.

“We’re scaling from real assets, land, power, and live deployments, not just ambition. The government recognises the urgency that is why they have said we need 6GW of sovereign AI capacity by 2030. Together we can get there by securing a foundation for innovation, investment, and long-term national advantage.”

Carbon3.ai positions the programme as aligned with Government priorities on national resilience and regional growth, targeting brownfield and legacy energy sites for conversion to renewable-powered compute hubs. The company points to policy moves such as AI growth zones and the designation of data centres as critical national infrastructure.