The government has opened its bidding for its AI Growth Zones, letting local and regional authorities nationwide put themselves forward to become dedicated regions for AI infrastructure development.

There will be a particular focus on deindustrialised areas of the country to become the next AI Growth Zones, and councils can submit their proposals, including sites with existing access to power or which would be suitable to establish energy infrastructure. 

This comes part of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, which has the UK set to revolutionise public services to become an AI superpower. Already, this project has attracted over £14 billion in investment since launching last month.

Secretary of state for science, innovation, and technology, Peter Kyle, said: “We set out our new blueprint for AI less than a month ago, and we’re already delivering on that vision by harnessing technology to supercharge our Plan for Change.

“These new AI Growth Zones will deliver untold opportunities — sparking new jobs, fresh investment and ensuring every corner of the country has a real stake in our AI-powered future.

“We’re leaving no stone unturned in how we can harness expertise from all over the UK to deliver new opportunities, fresh growth, better public services and cement our position as an AI pioneer, and that’s the message I will be sending to international partners and AI companies at the AI Action Summit.”

Energy companies, data centre developers, and other leading fields are also being encouraged to help push the government’s plans to rollout AI Growth Zones, which will help inform the final selection of sites and wider policy decisions. Interest is looking promising in Scotland, Wales, the North East, and the North West already, with further work scheduled to take place.

The selected areas will have rapid planning permission to build necessary AI infrastructure like data centres to power necessary innovations in sectors like healthcare. The government will work with network operators to scale each zone to at least 500MW, which is enough to power around two million homes.

In turn, this will attract private investment, create local jobs, and strengthen the UK’s position as an AI pioneering, and delivering opportunities for people across the the country as part of the newly-announced AI Opportunities Action Plan. The ideal criteria for communities to host AI Growth Zones include: sites with large existing power connections, deindustrialised areas with infrastructure to be developed, or locations close to suitable sites for major energy infrastructure, like nuclear reactors or solar stations.

The first of these AI Growth Zones is to be Culham in Oxfordshire, which is home of the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority, and will host a testing ground for research on how sustainable energy like fusion technology can power the UK’s AI endeavours.