Wales will be home to one ‘growth zone’ the UK Government say
Wales could be in line for billions of pounds in AI investment with a new AI growth zone, the UK Government says. Ministers announced in January that they planned to create growth zones across the UK to help speed up the development of data centres and other infrastructure needed to power AI systems.
Now they have confirmed Wales will be home to at least one of those zones, saying the nation is already on the way to becoming an AI powerhouse and praising Wales’ focus on green energy. Each growth zone could attract billions in private sector investment.
The UK Government wants to increase the UK’s computing capacity 20-fold and has committed £2bn to its AI Opportunities Action Plan to make sure the country has the computer processing power it needs.
New generation data centres allow researchers and businesses to process huge amounts of data quickly. That could lead to innovations in areas from healthcare and cancer treatments through to finding ways to solve the climate crisis. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Building those data centres and research hubs would help create construction jobs and pave the way for future hi-tech and research jobs.
Those data centres need lots of power, so AI Growth Zones “will be areas with large existing power connections, which will be powered by responsible and cutting-edge energy sources like small modular reactors”. The UK Government says Wales has been chosen because it has a “trove of potential sites”.
Ministers also praised Wales’s ambition to get 100% of its energy from renewable sources within the next decade, allowing for green AI growth.
The data centre sector is already growing in Wales, with US-based Vantage Data Centres last year revealing plans to build a campus on the site of the former Ford engine plant in Bridgend. Vantage already operates a site in Newport and says a cluster of 10 centres could eventually be built in Bridgend.
UK science minister Peter Kyle said: “From the coalmines of the valleys to Swansea’s mantra of ‘Copperopolis’, Welsh trailblazers were the beating heart of the industrial revolution. AI is this generation’s next great industrial leap, so who better to help drive that change than a nation which has always been a by-word for innovation.
“While the spending review set out a £2 billion commitment which will cement our position as a global leader in AI for the long-term, these growth zones will revitalize communities in the here and now – unlocking fresh investment and new opportunities for those that have been left out in the cold for too long. That’s how we’re putting our Plan for Change into action.”
Welsh secretary Jo Stevens said: “Wales is already home to a thriving and growing tech industry and this investment in at least one AI Growth Zone for Wales is a vote of confidence in the Welsh economy and testament to the skills and potential of our workforce.
“This is another significant step forward in our central mission to kickstart economic growth, create well-paid jobs and unlock opportunity in the industries of the future.”
No details have yet been released on where the zones will be. A statement from the department for science, innovation, and technology said: “Site readiness and local impact will also be key considerations to ensure communities can maximise the benefits that they will deliver.
“Several promising sites have already been identified through the government’s expression of interest process which opened in February, and further information on locations and timelines for delivery will be confirmed in due course.”