The Humber AI Data Centre Campus: A £3bn Vision for Data-Driven Growth

Outline plans for a 3m sq ft hyper-scale data centre campus at South Killingholme near Grimsby in Lincolnshire have been approved by the local council.

Developer Humber Tech Park said its ambitious plan would create one of the largest AI data centre campuses in Europe and represented an opportunity to secure a £2.2bn to £3bn investment in the area.

In an effort to address environmental concerns, the project incorporates several green initiatives. The development will include a district heating unit designed to capture and utilise waste heat from the data centre. This heat may be used as part of a district heating network, helping to reduce carbon emissions and support local sustainability efforts.

Additionally, the plans involve a 300,000-square-foot (27,000-square meter) greenhouse, which will use waste heat to grow tomatoes. This aspect of the project is expected to generate up to £3.5 million in annual sales, showcasing the innovative integration of technology and agriculture.

A new electricity substation would be built on the site to help handle the 386MW of IT system power requirements, the planning application said.

If the whole project were built out over a three to four-year period, the project would be supporting at least 2,500 to 3,500 jobs a year on and off-site.