Registration and networking

8:30 AM

Registration and networking

9:00 AM

Welcome from Ben Hargreaves, Head of Content, DC: Demand  

Ben Hargreaves, DC: Demand

Advancing data centre development in the UK

  Chaired by: Venessa Moffat, Data Centre Alliance

9:05 AM

Keynote: Understanding the UK Digital Growth Plans 

  • What infrastructure is being developed in Tees Valley to facilitate UK Digital Growth Plans, and how is it being executed sustainably?   
  • How can data centres benefit from locating to these areas?  
  • Can the UK achieve a leading place in the AI race and become an AI maker, rather than a taker? 

Speakers include:

Mayor Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Combined Authority
9:20 AM

Keynote: The current state of play in the UK data centre sector 

  • How much actual demand is there for new data centres, and what does it look like? 
  • How can data centre developers work in tandem with government and the energy sector to help them achieve strategic targets? 
  • Are Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) guidelines right for data centres

Speakers include: 

Allan Bosley, Ark Data Centres
9:30 AM

Overcoming the connections conundrum: Equipping stakeholders and the grid to handle digital expansion

  • What steps are Ofgem and NESO taking to reform demand connections? 
  • How can data centres work with electricity networks to accelerate planning and connect to the grid? 
  • Is the grid ready for digital expansion? 

Speakers include:

Steve Wallace, NESO
9:45 AM

Mitigating risk for data centre development

  • Where poses the greatest risks for data centres in planning and development applications? 
  • What are the common challenges facing data centres to becoming operational at pace? 
  • How can data centres effectively address these risks during the planning process? 
10:00 AM

Questions and answers

10:10 AM

PANEL DISCUSSION: How do we make the UK an attractive market?  

  • Where is the UK positioned in the global digital infrastructure economy? 
  • How can we adapt current policies to ensure minimal risk for investors? 
  • What are the key blockers to data centre growth in the UK? 
  • How can we overcome energy costs to accelerate data centre investment? 

Panel includes:

David Frank, Microsoft
Emma Fryer, CyrusOne
Jack Presley Abbott, Ofgem
10:50 AM

Refreshments break and networking

The morning splits into streams. Please choose between:

STREAM A: 
Overcoming the capacity conundrum

  Chaired by: Ben Hargreaves, Head of Content, DC: Demand 

11:20 AM

Does the UK have more available grid capacity with major industry closing? 

  • Repurposing existing connections sites to speed up development 
  • Aligning available industry clusters with AI Growth Zones 
  • Can data centres leverage major industry closures to negotiate better energy costs? 
11:35 AM

Downsizing to gain the edge in power agreements

  • From planning to delivery: can edge data centres represent a shift in momentum to the planning process? 
  • How are edge data centres capitalising on smaller pockets of power available? 

Speakers include:

Phil Collerton, EdgeNebula
11:50 AM

Leveraging the full potential of IDNOs

  • Accelerating grid connections time 
  • Exploring how to introduce independent networks at transmission level 
12:05 PM

Questions and answers 

12:20 PM

FIRESIDE CHAT: Pivoting to future-proof digital infrastructure

  • Taking action to guarantee future security of supply for data centres 
  • How can the energy sector help data centres scale sustainably to accommodate AI models? 

Speakers include:

James Earl, Future Energy Networks
Eve Fensome, Stack Infrastructure
Katie Davies, techUK
David Boyer, ENA
STREAM B: 
Data centres as an asset to the grid

  Chaired by: Venessa Moffat, Data Centre Alliance

11:20 AM

Leveraging data centres to provide grid resilience 

  • Connecting and operating data centres to manage grid capacity 
  • Championing partnerships and collaboration to ensure capacity in the grid 

Speakers include:

Liam Newcombe, GreenScale Data Centres
11:40 AM

 Re-thinking the grid: how data centres are becoming part of the solution

  • Co-locating with power infrastructure to unlock capacity faster 
  • Supporting the growth of renewable energy 
  • Partnering with utilities to accelerate delivery in grid-constrained markets 

Speakers include:

Andreas Rathmann, CyrusOne
12:00 PM

Harnessing data centres’ flexibility potential – can this be done by 2030?

  • Unlocking the capacity of data centres in balancing the grid 
  • Incorporating data centres into the distributed system 
  • Where are the opportunities for data centres to become active participants in flex markets? 
12:20 PM

Questions and answers

12:40 PM

Dragons’ Den 

Introducing our ‘Dragons’ Den’ quickfire solutions session, providing you with an opportunity to hear from our best-in-class partners who will deliver a 90-second pitch, designed to help you identify latest innovations. 

Strategy planning and workshops:

  Chaired by: Ben Hargreaves, Head of Content, DC: Demand 

1:50 PM

Creating a cohesive plan to support the UK’s development of data centres  

In this interactive session, delegates will split into groups to discuss key challenges and mutually beneficial solutions to enabling data centre construction and the UK to be an AI exporter. Data centres will come together with energy networks, policymakers and key stakeholders to co-create and influence UK strategy.  

Topics:  

  1. Reforming the demand connections queue 

  • What key metrics should be considered when analysing demand connection applications? 
  • How can Ofgem and NESO establish a formula to determine the number of realistic applications? 

  1. Overcoming the cost of energy dilemma 

  • How can data centres adopt the tariffs applied to other energy intensive industries? 
  • How do we reform the UK’s national energy pricing model to incentivise AI investment in the UK? 

  1. Build your Digital Growth Zone 

  • Establish the key concessions required to maximise the chances of delivering on your growth zone’s promise 
  • Consider the fundamental needs for data centres and AI hyperscalers to ensure the right infrastructure and processes are in place to accelerate build and operations 

Aligning priorities to deliver effective digital growth:

  Chaired by: Ben Hargreaves, Head of Content, DC: Demand 

3:40 PM

Lowering energy costs for data centres

  • Understanding how prohibitive current energy costs are to data centre growth in the UK  
  • How much of an appetite is there for AI hyperscalers to locate to the UK amidst high energy costs?  
  • Can data centres’ energy costs be subsidised alongside other energy intensive industries? 
Spencer Lamb, Kao Data
4:00 PM

Assessing the likelihood of data centre projects progressing from planning to reality

  • Balancing the guarantee of maximum capacity that data centres require vs the actual energy used 
  • How can NESO and Ofgem use this information to better analyse demand connection applications? 
  • Finding the revenue opportunities for energy networks in non-firm power 
4:20 PM

FIRESIDE CHAT: Your timeline, or ours? 

  • Confronting the misalignment in project timelines between data centre developers, local authorities and network operators 
  • How much do missed deadlines cost, and how do we prevent them being moved at will? 
  • Development investment vs infrastructure investment: what do we prioritise? 

Speakers include:

Julian Hennessy, Telehouse Europe
Joe Northwood, National Grid
Luisa Cardani, techUK
4:45 PM

Closing remarks and end of DC: Demand UK

Speakers include:

Ben Hargreaves, DC: Demand