Drax, Brookfield and Radiant Plan £20bn AI Data Centre Backed by Qatar's Qai

According to Drax's statement, the money will come from the AI infrastructure joint venture between Brookfield and Qai, the Qatari AI company owned by the Qatar Investment Authority. Brookfield and Qai set up that venture in December 2025 with $20 billion to invest in AI infrastructure in Qatar and selected international markets. Bloomberg reported the first-phase commitment as a £2.5 billion investment by Brookfield and Qai.

Phasing and Power

The plan has three stages. Phase 1 would provide up to 100MW and is targeted to start operating in the first quarter of 2028, at an initial cost of about £2.5bn. Phase 2 aims to reach 500MW between 2028 and 2031, with more capacity after 2031.

Drax brings the site and the power. Its estate covers 1,000 acres and has about 4GW of grid access, 2.6GW of active dispatchable generation and existing cooling systems, and it sits close to the UK fibre network. Brookfield supplies capital and operating capability. Radiant will deliver the project and build and operate the AI compute infrastructure.

Phase 1 is not yet certain. The companies said it depends on planning progressing on time, regulatory and network approvals from the government and the system operator, and finding a suitable tenant. Drax said community consultation would start shortly, followed by the formal planning process, which it hopes to begin in the coming months. It also plans a voluntary community benefits fund, separate from any planning obligations.

The partners said their initial assessment is that the project meets the criteria of the UK government's new Data Centre Covenant, which cover energy security, benefits for local communities, environmental standards, reindustrialisation and secure infrastructure.

Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner said the company was "proud to be partnering with leading AI infrastructure providers on this project". Sikander Rashid, Brookfield's head of AI infrastructure, said its capital and operating capabilities would help speed construction of "a critical piece of sovereign AI". Qai chairman and managing director Abdulla Al-Misnad said the investment helps build "the infrastructure required to support the long-term growth of the UK's AI ecosystem."

UK science and investment minister Chris McDonald called the deal "a strong vote of confidence in the UK" from Qatar and Brookfield.

Why It Matters

The deal shows two trends in AI infrastructure. Grid connections are now among the scarcest inputs for data centres, so power stations with large existing connections, like Drax, are becoming valuable as compute sites. And Gulf state-backed capital keeps spreading abroad: Qai's joint venture with Brookfield, created mainly for projects in Qatar, is now putting money into British AI capacity. That puts Doha alongside Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, whose sovereign funds are also building positions in data centres outside the region.

The releases did not give any financial terms for Drax, such as lease payments or revenue sharing.