The UK’s broken energy system could burst its AI bubble

AI is rewriting the rules of global competition, but no matter who gets a head start, the race will ultimately be won by whoever can power it cheaper.

As the UK lines itself up to become a global AI hub – on the heels of the UK-US Tech Prosperity Deal and Nvidia’s £2 billion investment into the UK AI ecosystem – the conversation keeps circling the same issue: chips, talent, and data.

But the biggest constraint isn’t digital, it’s electrical.

Global data-centre electricity demand will rise 165% by the end of the decade, according to Goldman Sachs. That’s billions of pounds of infrastructure and terawatts of power.

No matter where you look ...