Delivering one of Europe’s largest AI data centre clusters, with up to 2.5GW of capacity, co-located with the Humber’s clean energy infrastructure
Introducing the Northern Lincolnshire AI Growth Zone
The NLAIGZ project, led by Greystoke and North Lincolnshire Council, is shovel-ready and enjoys broad local and political support.
If designated, it would nearly double the UK’s current compute capacity, anchor more than £20 billion of private investment, and create thousands of high-quality jobs and skills opportunities in Northern Lincolnshire and the wider Humber region.
The Humber region is home to the UK’s largest clean energy cluster and is an ideal location to deliver multi-gigawatt AI infrastructure and support the UK’s wider net zero ambitions.
“The Northern Lincolnshire AI Growth Zone is a transformational opportunity for our region. It will deliver thousands of skilled jobs, boost local supply chains, and bring billions of pounds of private investment. This will support the creation of a world-leading data centre cluster that brings real benefits to Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme”.
Lee Pitcher, Member of Parliament for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme
The opportunity in Northern Lincolnshire
Economic Benefits
Investment and jobs
NLAIGZ would attract significant private investment and generate jobs on a scale not seen in Northern Lincolnshire for decades
The project is expected to unlock more than £20 billion of private capital, making it one of the largest data centre clusters in Europe. It would deliver an estimated £2.4 billion uplift to Gross Value Added each year, equivalent to around 10% of the combined economies of North and North East Lincolnshire.
During the construction phase, NLAIGZ could support around 14,000 jobs annually across engineering, construction, and supply chains. Once operational, the campuses would create more than 1,650 permanent high-skilled roles, with salaries around 77% above the local average. This scale of investment would help close the productivity gap and strengthen the UK’s competitiveness in AI.
The UK’s clean energy hub
Skills, supply chains, communities
The project would guarantee long-term benefits for local businesses, skills and communities
At least 30% of the supply chain will be sourced locally, providing SMEs in the local area with a dependable pipeline of work. As a signatory to the UK Steel Charter, the project would prioritise steel produced in Scunthorpe, supporting the region’s traditional industrial base.
More than £50 million would be invested in training and education, through partnerships with local government, local universities and regional skills providers including the CATCH facility at Immingham. This will give local people clear pathways into high-quality digital infrastructure jobs.
Beyond the numbers, the project will reuse residual heat from the data centres to power greenhouses, supporting agri-tech research, reducing carbon waste and improving regional food security.
The first planned AI data centre campus
Humber Tech Park, the first AI data centre campus in the cluster, already has outline planning permission. It is expected to deliver 450MW of capacity.
Why Northern Lincolnshire?
Northern Lincolnshire’s strategic advantages
Clean energy advantage
The Humber is the UK’s leading clean energy cluster, generating 20% of the nation’s electricity, hosting 33% of offshore wind capacity and with an advanced programme for carbon capture and storage. Co-locating AI compute here reduces grid strain, cuts transmission losses and anchors further clean power investment. Centres will also use closed-loop systems to minimise local water demand.
Ready to deliver
Land for the four campuses has been secured, with the first outline planning consent already achieved, at Humber Tech Park. NLAIGZ will deliver over 500MW of capacity by 2029. The project already has cross-party political support and the backing of industry and business leaders across the Humber region.
Cluster Benefits
Developing four interconnected campuses rather than a single site spreads benefits across Northern Lincolnshire and ensures the project can adapt as technology evolves. The cluster will be capable of delivering AI training, inference and cloud services in combination, creating more jobs and providing UK businesses with resilient and flexible access to compute.
Supporting business and research
NLAIGZ would strengthen UK businesses and both scientific and academic research by making advanced compute more accessible
The project would deliver 2.5GW of compute capacity, almost doubling that available in the London cluster. Alongside Leeds and Manchester, this would create a new northern AI and cloud region, rebalancing digital infrastructure across the UK.
NLAIGZ would support regional industries with low-latency computing — from financial services in Leeds to advanced manufacturing in Sheffield. It also includes a dedicated 5MW AI testbed facility, giving SMEs and researchers flexible short-term access to compute environments that are otherwise beyond their reach. This responds directly to a recognised barrier for UK innovation.
News and resources
Stay informed about the NLAIGZ project
Please check this website for updates on how NLAIGZ will deliver critical national infrastructure and enable local regeneration.
For media enquiries contact: media@nlaigz.com
Get involved
The project has strong political and community backing
The proposal already has strong local and political backing. Cross-party MPs representing constituencies across Northern Lincolnshire and the Humber, local politicians, mayoral authorities, local businesses and regional skills providers are actively engaged and supportive of the proposal.
We now invite national policymakers and UK businesses to add their support and become part of delivering one of Europe’s most significant AI infrastructure opportunities.
If you would like to help make Northern Lincolnshire AI Growth Zone happen, please email us at: projectteam@nlaigz.com