British trade organisation the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) has claimed that the UK will lose the global AI race without “urgent action” to increase the country’s nuclear capacity.
In a new report the NIA found that the electricity demand from UK data centres is set to increase by more than fivefold by 2030, driven by the energy-intensive AI sector that the government remains insistent on leading on.
The group said that the UK’s current energy system “can’t keep pace” and that as AI adoption continues, a reliable low-carbon source of power would be needed to meet the rising demand.
Of particular concern for the report are the timelines involved. While data centres are generally working to a 18-24 moth build time, while grid connection works can take as long as a decade.
The report has therefore called for the government to accelerate all types of nuclear, including small and large reactors, prioritise clean power access for critical digital infrastructure, allow co-location of nuclear power sites and data centres and reform licensing policy.
“Britain’s digital future depends on secure, clean energy. We can only build the AI economy of tomorrow with rapid, expedited deployment of clean, reliable, sovereign nuclear power in the mix,” said NIA chief executive Tom Greatrex.
“The recommendations of the Government’s Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce give us a perfect opportunity to create a better framework for deploying nuclear to meet data centre needs, but we must move now.”
The report was authored by Oxford Economics’ Clarissa Hahn.
“In this report, we identify several competitiveness challenges facing the UK—such as high industrial electricity prices and delayed grid connections,” Hahn said.
“Our findings show that nuclear energy is uniquely positioned to meet this growing demand: offering reliable 24/7 power with a low-carbon footprint that the tech sector is calling for.”
The government has been working to advance the UK nuclear sector, with a particular focus being on small modular reactors, with the country’s first set to be placed in North Wales.
