Drax has confirmed it has signed an agreement to develop a strategic partnership with Brookfield and Radiant, Brookfield's UK-headquartered AI infrastructure platform, to jointly develop, deliver, and operate an AI data center on the Drax Power Station estate in the north of England.

Strategic Agreement Targets Gigawatt-Scale AI Compute on Drax Estate.

The partnership, announced on 3 November 2026, combines Radiant's AI infrastructure expertise with Drax's powered land and generation capabilities, with investment capital and operating capabilities provided through a Brookfield-Qai AI infrastructure joint venture announced in 2025.

The project is targeting the development of a data center exceeding 1 GW of capacity at the power station site, which Drax says would be one of the largest data centers in the UK if constructed in full. Brookfield estimates that total potential investment, including semiconductor chips, could exceed USD 26.83 billion, with an initial USD 3.35 billion forming part of Phase 1.

Three-Phase Rollout from 2028

The development is structured in three phases. Phase 1 is targeting up to 100 MW of compute capacity, operational from the first quarter of 2028, using power drawn directly from the grid. Phase 2 is an ambition to ramp up to an additional 500 MW of capacity between 2028 and 2031, while Phase 3 aims to develop additional capacity post-2031.

Phase 1 would make the facility one of the largest current data centers in the UK. The development on land identified at Drax Power Station will utilize existing infrastructure to import power directly from the grid, with power management handled by Drax.

Radiant will lead on design, customer engagement, and commercialization, seeking to secure anchor customer commitments prior to initiating construction, while Drax will lead on land, power integration, and planning.

A planning application for Phase 1 is being prepared, and a public consultation process is expected to commence in November 2026. Progression of Phase 1 remains subject to the necessary planning approvals, required regulatory and network approvals from the government and the relevant agencies, securing an acceptable tenant for the project, negotiation of necessary commercial agreements, and each party taking a final investment decision.

The partners also expect to establish a voluntary community benefits fund, developed in consultation with communities around the Drax Power Station site, which would be separate from and additional to any planning obligations and Drax's existing community initiatives.

Behind-the-Meter Power for Phase 2

Phase 2 is intended to develop options for 500 MW of data center capacity between 2028 and 2031, expected to utilize existing generation capabilities at Drax Power Station to provide a distributed energy and management solution, behind-the-meter, with around-the-clock power supplied directly to the data center under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), subject to necessary consents.

The data centre will draw on Drax Power Station's 4 GW of grid access and 2.6 GW of dispatchable generation capacity. In November 2025, Drax signed a Contract-for-Difference agreement with the UK Government to provide approximately 6 TWh of biomass generation per annum between April 2027 and March 2031, equating to around 30% of total annual baseload output from its 2.6 GW of active generation.

Chief executives point to jobs, energy security and sovereign AI

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner said the company was proud to be partnering with leading AI infrastructure providers on a project that "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."

Gardiner added, "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 centers in the UK, with the potential to attract billions in inward investment, supporting the north's reindustrialization and strengthening sovereign AI capability."

He described Drax Power Station as one of the few UK sites able to provide large-scale reliable power directly to data center customers by utilizing existing and underutilized generation capacity and welcomed the government's recognition that strategically important data centers 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," he said.

Brookfield Head of AI Infrastructure Sikander Rashid said teaming up with Drax and Qai represented a major opportunity for the firm's AI infrastructure strategy.

"Our capital and deep operating capabilities will help accelerate the construction of a critical piece of sovereign AI, delivered by Radiant, our UK-headquartered compute infrastructure platform," he said, noting that in addition to preserving hundreds of jobs, the project would create many direct and indirect jobs around the broader Yorkshire area.

Qai Chairman and Managing Director Abdulla Al-Misnad called the project a major initiative under the Brookfield-Qai joint venture and part of the firm's international AI infrastructure strategy.

"Drawing on the combined expertise of Qai and Brookfield in developing and managing large-scale critical infrastructure, and with Radiant and Drax delivering the project, we are helping to establish the infrastructure required to support the long-term growth of the UK's AI ecosystem," he said.

Radiant CEO Mahdi Yahya said the company was proud to expand its UK AI compute footprint with Drax, describing it as a unique opportunity for the UK's AI ecosystem to build at scale.

"By designing, building, and operating from the UK, it will give British researchers, startups, and enterprises access to frontier compute at home," he said. "Drax has powered Britain for more than fifty years. Together we can power its AI economy for the next fifty."

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