Datacentre hailed by government was supposed to start operating next year but may be held back into mid-2030s

A huge datacentre project hailed by the UK government will miss its launch date next year and could be delayed into the mid-2030s.

The site in Loughton, Essex, was described as the country’s largest AI supercomputer when it was announced in 2025, but power supply problems mean it now faces a lengthy wait before coming online.

Doubts had already emerged about the scheme after the Guardian revealed in March that the planned location was still an operational scaffolding yard.

Now there are further concerns about the project due to its inability to obtain enough power before its planned 2027 debut. The Loughton supercomputer is being built by Nscale, a UK-based startup seeking a $35bn (£26bn) flotation this year.

UK Power Networks (UKPN), the company that will connect the site to the local power grid, has reportedly told Nscale the grid will not be able to supply sufficient power to the datacentre until the early to mid-2030s.

The power delay was first reported by Morning Intelligence, an AI industry newsletter.

Nscale said it was “committed to the project” but the failure tofind a quick fix to the power supply issue underlines how much energy has become a hindrance to datacentre development. The scaffolding yard site has now been cleared by Nscale, however. The company is also investigating whether it can generate power onsite and whether it can speed up the connection process.

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