The Digital Expansion: Key Drivers Behind the Surge in UK Data Centre Construction

The data centre construction market is set to grow considerably – potentially quadrupling by 2028. This follows a period of growth, despite the uncertain economic and political environment. The 6th edition of the UK data centre construction market report presents our forecast from 2024 to 2028.
In this report, the market covered is defined as follows:
- The construction of data centre buildings.
- The installation of power and network cabling, distribution equipment and some networking equipment.
- Conversions of existing buildings into data centres.
- Replacement, routine maintenance and repairs.
It includes analysis of the market by:
- New-build centres versus retrofit and Repair Maintenance and Improvement (RMI).
- Ownership status, including owner-operator, wholesale and co-location, including profiles of key providers, such as Digital Reality, Equinix, Virtus, and Kao Data.
- Detailed review of supply to the sector by product category, including: power cabling and electrical equipment, cooling and air conditioning, building fabric, and site security and access control.
- Summary of data centre construction specialists, including: building contractors, designers, consultants and funders.
- Profiles of both product and service suppliers.
- Regional analysis of planned data centre projects.
Data Centre Market Growth
While most parts of the UK economy and the construction industry have suffered from uncertainty and shocks like the pandemic, the data centre sector has continued to grow over the past five years. This pattern of growth is likely to continue and potentially to accelerate. This is due to a number of factors driving growth.
There has been a rapid growth in the use of data in almost every aspect of human activity with key drivers being cloud computing, data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Infrastructure as a Service (IsaaS), e-commerce and gaming. The number of internet-connected devices is expected to grow by 242% in the decade between 2019 and 2030.
Data centres have been classified by the new UK Government as a critical part of the national infrastructure.
As well as providing key infrastructure for a range of data needs, this will underpin the National AI Strategy. AI requires four times more processing power, so is a key driver of the demand for more, large hyperscale centres, and even larger, GigaSites.
Smaller, urban ‘edge’ centres offer low latency for ‘real-time’ applications, like IoT, 4K streaming and 5G mobile or connected vehicle technologies.
Environmental Impact of Data Centres
While data centres grow in number and size, their environmental impact is significant, which can lead to penalties, for instance via the Climate Change Levy.
There is, therefore, a drive to reduce carbon emissions and other impacts by, for instance, using renewable energy sources or closed-loop water systems for cooling.
This presents an opportunity for those who build and operate data centres in the UK.
In terms of building construction and products used within the data centre sector, most of the attention is on energy efficiency, to increase facilities’ capacity sustainably.
This includes manufacturers and distributors of IT and engineering equipment, builders and installers and consultants. Many of these companies are included in the report.
The importance of making sure data centres are sustainable means that there is often a requirement for sustainable design and the inclusion of renewable energy generation.
The market is experiencing an influx in data centre specialists, such as – among others – consultants Arup, Stantec, WSP, design and build specialists Hellenic Dynamics and KeySource Group, and some M&E contractors and building contractors dedicating business divisions to data centre construction.
Regional Overview of Data Centres
While there are challenges, such as availability of land, supply of sustainable power, heavy use of water for cooling, and a shortage in some of the required skills, the UK data centre construction sector is likely to grow considerably over the next four years.
More of this growth will be concentrated away from London than previously, with new data centres planned in other regions, especially the north of England.
Data Centre Construction Market Report by AMA Research
AMA Research has published our 6th edition of the Data Centre Construction Market Report for the UK 2024-2028. Get ahead in this complex yet booming market today and buy your copy today.
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