The UK Government has opened a funding competition worth up to £180 million to establish a data centre for its next national AI supercomputer. 

The competition, which opened on November 11, will fund the infrastructure needed to accommodate the system – but there is a catch. Applicants must demonstrate that sufficient electricity capacity can be delivered to meet the Government’s proposed timetable. 

And that timetable is tight for a sector that is dealing with skills shortages and supply chain delays. In fact, the Government is hoping that the first 10MW of IT load will be delivered by December 31, 2027, before expanding to 30MW by March 2029.

That timeline is the reason the Government is placing particular emphasis on electricity availability. Applicants must already hold written evidence of a firm distribution network operator connection offer securing at least 14MVA of import capacity for the first phase, increasing to 41MVA for the second.

That requirement is significant given the grid connection delays affecting UK data centre developments, even where projects have secured investment and customer commitments.

In October, Microsoft withdrew from its agreement to take capacity at Nscale’s planned AI data centre in Loughton, Essex, following reported delays that could leave the facility waiting until the 2030s for sufficient electricity.

Commercial data centre operators can get involved

The competition is being run by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST), with UK research organisations expected to lead applications.

However, commercial data centre operators won’t be excluded. They can join forces with eligible research organisations to bid for the funding, potentially providing the facilities and expertise needed to accommodate the new supercomputer.

That could be particularly useful for universities and research institutions that have experience running large computing systems, but don’t necessarily have the space, power or cooling infrastructure needed for a 30MW facility.

The Government also wants applicants to show they have experience delivering data centres of a similar size, whether directly or through a partner. That includes managing construction work, contractors and the specialist equipment needed to get a facility up and running.

The £180 million can be used to build a new data centre or expand an existing one. It will cover infrastructure such as electrical systems, cooling and connectivity, alongside certain costs involved in maintaining and operating the facility.

However, the money won’t pay for the supercomputer itself. The computing hardware will be purchased and installed separately.

Part of a wider £750m investment

This isn’t an entirely new project. The Government first announced plans to spend £750 million on a new AI supercomputer in June, before asking organisations to express an interest in hosting it in July.

It’s planned as a ‘heterogeneous’ system. Essentially, that means it will bring together different types of processors, including newer chips designed specifically for AI tasks. 

It will form part of the Government’s AI Research Resource (AIRR) programme, which already includes Isambard-AI at the University of Bristol and Dawn at the University of Cambridge. The aim is to give researchers, businesses and public sector organisations access to more computing power, particularly for developing and testing AI systems.

Applications for the funding close at midday on November 25, with the Government expected to announce the outcome by January 8, 2027.