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Drax Group, Brookfield and its UK-headquartered AI infrastructure platform Radiant announced a strategic partnership with Qatar’s Qai to develop more than one gigawatt of artificial intelligence data centre capacity at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire. The Brookfield-Qai AI infrastructure joint venture formed in 2025 will provide the investment and operating capabilities for the project, which Brookfield estimates could attract total investment exceeding £20 billion including an initial £2.5 billion for the first phase and related semiconductor infrastructure. The 1,000-acre site already offers 4 gigawatts of grid access together with 2.6 gigawatts of dispatchable generation and cooling capacity that will support the development.
The phased project targets initial operations in the first quarter of 2028 with up to 100 megawatts of capacity under the first phase according to the joint announcement from the partners. A second phase would add up to 500 megawatts between 2028 and 2031 while a third phase envisions further expansion after 2031 to reach the full gigawatt-scale ambition. Progression remains subject to planning approvals, regulatory clearances, network consents and securing a suitable anchor tenant for the facility.
Qai chairman and managing director Abdulla Al-Misnad stated in the announcement that the project forms a major part of the joint venture’s international AI infrastructure strategy. “This project is a major initiative under the Brookfield-Qai joint venture and forms part of our international AI infrastructure strategy,” Al-Misnad said. “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.”
Brookfield head of AI infrastructure Sikander Rashid highlighted the project’s role in advancing sovereign AI capabilities while supporting local employment. “Teaming up with Drax and Qai for this project represents a major opportunity for our AI infrastructure strategy,” Rashid said. “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. In addition to preserving hundreds of jobs, this project will also create many direct and indirect jobs around the broader Yorkshire area.”
Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner noted the partnership’s potential to secure the site’s long-term future and maintain energy security contributions. The power station has supported UK energy needs for more than 50 years and the data centre development would allow continued local community support alongside northern economic growth according to Gardiner. Radiant chief executive Mahdi Yahya added that the project would provide British researchers, startups and enterprises with access to frontier computing resources developed and operated domestically.
The announcement builds on Drax’s initial data centre plans outlined in December 2025 with the new partners supplying both capital and specialised AI infrastructure expertise to advance the project. UK government officials including science minister Chris McDonald welcomed the investment as a sign of strengthening technological ties between Britain and Qatar that will drive growth in both countries. Drax shares rose more than 8 percent on the London Stock Exchange following the disclosure of the partnership details.
