Why AECOM Calls for Sovereign UK Data Centre Framework

AECOM, a global infrastructure leader, is calling for a sovereign data centre framework to be established by the UK, as global investment in data centres accelerates.

It comes as the rapid growth of AI is becoming embedded across public services and questions around the data centres that hold sensitive data, with concerns the UK may fall behind.

Opening the report, the Vice President of AECOM, Adrian Del Maestro, explains how the UK faces a “clear choice” on whether it will benefit from data centre growth or sees other regions increase investment in AI.

He says: “As countries compete to establish leadership in AI, access to secure, affordable and scalable digital infrastructure is becoming a defining factor in national industrial stategies.”

The report by AECOM recommends four ways that the UK should take to turn data centre growth into long-term value:

1. Actively steer where digital demand is located, directing high-intensity computing towards locations where it enables heat reuse and makes use of available capacity
2. Establish sovereign data infrastructure to reinforce the UK's leadership in the AI-driven economy and protect the UK's critical data
3. Prioritise data centres that recover waste heat and have extensive storage, improving resilience, reducing costs and helping secure consent from the public
4. Treat data centres as engines of regional economic growth, and ensure fair access to their AI advancements 

Adrian adds: "The UK has made important progress in recognising the strategic role of data centres and AI-enabled infrastructure, particularly through recent planning and energy reforms.

"The next step is to build on that momentum by providing clearer long-term signals on where critical digital infrastructure should be located, how it is powered and how sensitive workloads are secured."

The UK government's commitments

At the end of January, the UK government reflected a year on from its AI opportunities action plan, which included delivering AI growth zones for data centres and the protection of sensitive data.

Through AI growth zones, the government aimed to unlock large-scale compute capacity and tackle barriers to AI data centre investment, particularly in areas with higher demand, like Scotland and the North of England.

A year on from this plan, the UK's Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said the UK designated 5 AI Growth Zones and committed £2bn (US$2.7bn) to expand compute capacity twentyfold by 2030. 

The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology set up the Sovereign AI Unit, which aimed to strengthen the UK's AI capabilities with up to £500m (US$675.8m) of funding.

AECOM's report says the UK government's promotion of AI growth zones aligns with the fourth vision on their list. Reflecting a year on from that promise, Keir Starmer said there is still a lot more work to do.

He said: "This year we will go further and faster, with the new AI Growth Zone Delivery Unit ensuring data centres are built quickly in the places they are needed most.

“We will take proven AI tools in public services – from diagnostics to planning to digital assistants – and scale them nationwide so people everywhere can benefit.”

AECOM's research also found that London's data centres are releasing enough waste heat to warm up to half a million homes each year. While the government is building new data centres in areas with available clean energy, Scotland, Cumbria and the North East, the government's reflection of its AI Opportunities Action Plan focuses on construction of data centres rather than the repurposing of waste energy from its existing compute.

The report by AECOM says how for existing data centres, on-site generation and storage can reduce pressure on the grid. It explains how integrated planning could give space for data centres to contribute to sustainability and regeneration goals.

Future considerations

In the conclusion of its report, AECOM discusses future considerations the UK will need to have to be successful in its data centre growth journey.

This includes community engagement and the trust and consent of the public, as it states how data centre stakeholders, energy providers and government will need to "articulate a compelling narrative that highlights the benefits of data centres". This includes how sovereign cloud, a local type of cloud, can protect sensitive data and is being pushed forward by the UK government with the Sovereign AI Unit.

Mary-Ann Clarke is UK and Europe Data Centre Lead at AECOM, and believes data centres are vital for the UK to retain economic value.

She says: "Data centres are now critical national infrastructure in every meaningful sense.

"A clear sovereign framework would give developers and investors greater certainty, strengthen resilience and help ensure the UK retains control over a critical layer of its digital economy."