# Drax plans twenty billion pound AI data centre

> Britain's largest power station will host a massive AI computing facility in a three-phase build backed by Brookfield and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund.
- Title: Drax plans twenty billion pound AI data centre · The Next Web
- Summary: Britain's largest power station will host a massive AI computing facility in a three-phase build backed by Brookfield and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund…
- Keywords: drax, brookfield, radiant, ai data centre, north yorkshire, qatar investment authority, power generation, uk infrastructure, The Next Web
- Source: The Next Web — https://thenextweb.com/news/drax-brookfield-radiant-ai-data-centre-north-yorkshire-20bn
- Author: Alina Maria Stan
- Published: 2026-11-04T13:54:32+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: drax, brookfield, radiant, ai data centre, north yorkshire, qatar investment authority, power generation, uk infrastructure, technology, startups
## Drax backs twenty billion pound AI centre
Drax, Britain's largest power station in North Yorkshire, will build an AI data centre with Brookfield and Radiant. The site could eventually host more than one gigawatt of computing capacity.
## Three phases over more than three years
The first phase targets one hundred megawatts from early twenty twenty-eight, funded by two point five billion pounds from a joint venture between Brookfield and Qai, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority.
## Phase two uses Drax's own power
A second phase aims to add another five hundred megawatts between twenty twenty-eight and twenty thirty-one, powered directly by Drax's own generators under a long-term contract, subject to government approval.
## Still needs planning and a customer
The first phase requires planning permission, regulatory approval, grid access and a final investment decision from each partner. Radiant will seek anchor customers before construction starts. No tenant has been announced yet.
## Government backs plan despite emissions row
The government welcomed the investment as supporting reindustrialisation and jobs in Yorkshire. However, Drax is the UK's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide, and its subsidies will be halved from twenty twenty-seven to twenty thirty-one.

> Investments like this will help pave the way to a new age of British reindustrialisation, creating good jobs in Yorkshire and delivering growth right across the country.
## Key takeaway

Drax, Brookfield and Radiant plan a twenty billion pound AI data centre at Britain's largest power station in North Yorkshire, starting with one hundred megawatts in early twenty twenty-eight.