AI and Energy: Powering a New Infrastructure Era
Recent UK investments show a clear shift: infrastructure is being reshaped to run large AI workloads that directly impact energy systems. From purpose-built data halls to sovereign cloud agreements and defence-derived subsea tech, these moves signal a strategic pivot toward AI-first operations across generation, grids and trading platforms.
Building the AI-Ready Backbone
Providers are upgrading compute, cooling and networking to host dense AI servers. Pulsant’s new
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Pulsant has invested in a 10 million pound data hall purpose-built for high-density AI compute, a pattern mirrored by other colocation and hyperscale players. Networking sits at the core of these deployments. Cisco reports a surge in AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers and industrial IoT edge projects, reflecting the need for low-latency fabrics and deterministic networking between edge sites, cloud regions and on-prem systems. Hybrid cloud models are also rising. The UK Ministry of Defence enterprise agreement with Red Hat points to a wider demand for a unified digital backbone that can run sensitive AI workloads with consistent operations across public and private clouds.
AI Driving Energy Innovation
AI is being applied to trading, operations and asset management. tem closed a 55 million Series B to scale an AI-powered marketplace for matching renewable generation, storage and demand, modernizing infrastructure and liquidity in clean energy markets. Defence-derived deep tech is crossing into energy: BAE Systems’ Launchpad spinout Rho-C adapts submarine power and data transmission techniques for long-distance subsea cables and remote infrastructure. OT and IT functions are converging, with partnerships such as TCS and Honeywell on Honeywell Forge enabling autonomous operations, predictive intelligence and reduced downtime across plants and networks.
Strategic Implications for Energy
The combined effect is faster efficiency gains and measurable emissions reductions through smarter dispatch, predictive maintenance and optimized trading. But these benefits require a robust digital foundation: specialized data halls, secure networking fabrics, and hybrid or sovereign cloud models to meet regulatory and resilience requirements. Capgemini’s multi-hyperscaler sovereign cloud approach highlights how operators can retain control of critical workloads while leveraging public cloud scale. Cybersecurity and workforce reskilling remain priorities as OT and IT merge.
The Future Landscape
AI infrastructure investments underway in the UK are a preview of global trends. Energy leaders should assess their digital backbone, pilot AI workloads in secure hybrid environments and partner with providers that offer high-density compute, resilient networking and sovereign cloud options. The path from defence labs to energy field deployments shows a clear commercial route for deep tech to accelerate decarbonization and operational performance.
