UK's biggest planned AI datacentre may slip into the mid-2030s

single source· 1 articles · confidence: low · first seen 2026-09-24 17:26 UTC

What this means for you

Nothing to act on directly. If you were sizing UK-based compute capacity for 2027, treat this site as absent: there is no revised date, no capacity figure, and no word on whether the power constraint is solvable where it stands.

A datacentre in Loughton, Essex, which the government described as the UK's largest AI supercomputer when it was announced in 2025, will miss its planned launch next year, and the Guardian reports that power supply problems could push it into the mid-2030s. No revised date, capacity figure, cost or equipment supplier has been published. The problem is described as electricity rather than funding or chips: the site needs grid connections the area cannot currently provide. Nothing in the input indicates whether the delay is fixable on that site or whether the project moves elsewhere.

Key facts

  • ·The site is in Loughton, Essex. source
  • ·It was described as the UK's largest AI supercomputer when announced in 2025. source
  • ·It was due to start operating next year, meaning 2027, and will miss that date. source
  • ·The Guardian reports it could be delayed into the mid-2030s. source
  • ·The stated cause is power supply problems at the site. source

What the sources say

  • The Guardian AI — Sole report in the cluster; a short piece tying the missed date to electricity rather than funding.

Sources

The original reporting. Follow these — they did the work.

← the wire