tech · energy
britain’s biggest ai computer was ready to ship. the plug was not
microsoft has walked away from a 23,040 chip data centre in essex after being told the grid could not power it until the 2030s.
- 23040, nvidia chips planned
- 50MW, power it needed to start
- 2030S, when the grid can supply it
in september 2025, as part of the deals signed around donald trump’s state visit, the startup nscale promised microsoft what it called the uk’s largest ai supercomputer: a campus at loughton in essex with 23,040 of nvidia’s newest chips, drawing 50 megawatts at first and up to 90 later. the chips were due in the first quarter of 2027.
reuters reported on sunday that microsoft has pulled out, once the network operators said the site would wait until the 2030s for its grid connectiona firm date and capacity from the network operator to plug a new site into the electricity grid. big users join a queue for one.. microsoft says the call concerns one site and not the partnership. the chips, the money and the customer were all in place. the missing piece was the plug. waits in that queue can stretch to 13 years, by reuters’ count.
sept 2025
campus announced
during the uk and us tech deals
sept 2026
nscale files to list in new york
19 oct 2026
microsoft pulls out
q1 2027
when the chips were due
2030s
when power is now expected
pick one
what does nscale say it will do with the loughton site now?
the lesson for anyone building ai capacity in britain: chips arrive in months, power in years. nscale’s listing in new york, where microsoft is named as a major customer, is the next place this will show up.