Qatar's Qai to build AI data centre at UK's Drax site

Summary

• Qai and Brookfield will develop an AI data centre at the Drax power site in England.
• The site offers 4 gigawatts of grid access and 2.6 gigawatts of dispatchable generation capacity.
• First phase targets commercial operation in early 2028, turning a 2025 partnership into construction.

The latest

Qatar-based technology company Qai is expanding into the United Kingdom with a large AI infrastructure project at the Drax power station site in northern England, the company announced. The development falls under the AI infrastructure joint venture Qai formed with Brookfield in 2025, and will be carried out alongside Brookfield's AI platform Radiant and Drax itself.

Details

• The power base: The project will draw on the Drax site's 4 gigawatts of grid access capacity and 2.6 gigawatts of dispatchable generation, according to the announcement. Dispatchable capacity means output that can be called on when needed, a decisive feature for data centres that require uninterrupted supply rather than intermittent power.
• The timeline: The first phase will take its power directly from the grid and is targeting the start of commercial operation in early 2028, the company said. Later phases were not given a separate schedule, leaving the full build-out horizon beyond the first tranche undefined.
• The structure: The development sits inside the Qai-Brookfield AI infrastructure joint venture announced in 2025. Execution involves Radiant, Brookfield's dedicated AI infrastructure platform, and Drax Group as the host operator of the site, making it a three-way delivery arrangement rather than a straight land purchase.
• The jobs claim: Brookfield said the project will preserve hundreds of existing jobs and generate additional direct and indirect employment across the Yorkshire region. The company did not break down how many of those roles are construction-phase versus permanent operational positions once the facility is running.
• Qai's framing: Abdullah Al Misnad, chairman and managing director of Qai, said the project reflects the company's commitment to developing critical AI infrastructure. His remarks position the UK build as part of a wider international footprint rather than a one-off asset.
• Drax's angle: Will Gardiner, chief executive of Drax Group, said the project could help secure the long-term future of the site. The statement frames the data centre as a commercial second life for a power location whose traditional generation role has been under pressure.
• Brookfield's pitch: Sikander Rashid, Brookfield's global head of AI infrastructure, described the project as a vital part of sovereign AI — compute capacity located and controlled within a country's own borders, a theme increasingly used to justify large domestic data centre builds in Europe.
• The missing number: No investment value was disclosed for the project. Neither Qai nor Brookfield published a capital figure, a cost split between the partners, or the planned compute capacity the facility will ultimately house.

Background

Qai is a Qatar-headquartered global technology company. Its AI infrastructure joint venture with Brookfield was announced in 2025; the Drax development is the partnership's move from agreement to a named site with a stated operating date.

Between the lines

Two pressures meet at Drax. Gardiner's reference to securing the site's long-term future points to a generation asset seeking new demand, while 4 gigawatts of existing grid access is exactly what AI builders struggle to obtain in Britain, where connection queues are the binding constraint. Rashid's sovereign AI language suggests the partners expect domestic buyers for the capacity.

What's next

Watch for a disclosed investment figure, confirmation of compute capacity, construction start at the Yorkshire site, and whether the partners announce anchor customers before the early 2028 commercial operation target.

Source: Qatar News Agency (QNA)