Schneider calls for collaboration on London data centres
Author: Joe Peck
Global energy technology company Schneider Electric has brought together organisations from across the public and private sectors to discuss the infrastructure challenges facing London’s data centre market and the collaboration needed to support future AI growth.
Held in partnership with Opportunity London and SEGRO, the roundtable explored how London can maintain its position as Europe’s largest data centre hub while addressing growing demand for digital infrastructure.
The event, chaired by Laura Citron, Chief Executive of London & Partners, included representatives from government, local authorities, energy companies, data centre operators, real estate, and the wider technology sector.
Participants discussed the need for greater coordination around planning, electricity infrastructure, land availability, water use, and emerging technologies such as liquid cooling. The discussions also highlighted the importance of improving understanding of data centre requirements among policymakers as demand for AI and cloud infrastructure continues to grow.
The roundtable also examined the role of data centres as critical national infrastructure (CNI) and their contribution to economic growth and AI development.
Industry highlights need for coordinated infrastructure planning
Matthew Baynes (pictured above), Vice President, Secure Power UK & Ireland at Schneider Electric, says, “Today, there remains a fundamental gap between how policymakers perceive and understand data centres [and] how the industry actually operates.
“Decisions around planning, land allocation, and power provision are being made without a complete picture of what’s required to meet the AI opportunity, and the UK now risks losing ground to markets where that understanding is far more mature.
“As the UK’s largest data centre hub, and its default AIGZ, London offers all the advantages needed to lead, but closing the gap between ambition and action is not optional; it is the prerequisite for success.”
Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive of Opportunity London, adds, “Data centres are no longer a niche; they are foundational to London’s future economic growth, AI ambitions, and global competitiveness.”
Maria Jose Rivas-Duarte, Director of Sustainability at Pure Data Centres, also says the discussions demonstrated the importance of collaboration between industry, policymakers, and local communities to support responsible digital infrastructure development, while Luisa Cardani, Head of the Data Centres Programme at techUK, notes the UK’s data centre sector has significant potential to contribute to economic growth, but that achieving this will require coordinated action between government and industry.
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