North East could be vital to UK's AI leadership

Dynamo, a not-for-profit tech sector organisation based in the North East of England, has published a report on how the region can capitalise on the growing demand for data centres.

With the UK government focused on making the UK an international hub for the AI future, Dynamo's report points to the what the North East has already achieved. This includes securing a £10 billion investment from Blackstone for an AI data centre in Blyth.

Earlier this year, the Dynamo Leadership Forum brought together a wide range of regional experts and stakeholders to explore how the region could support the Government’s efforts to grow the sector.

The concluding report, ‘Shaping the Future of Data Centres and Cloud Innovation’, captured the key themes discussed and highlighted three strategic recommendations to ensure the region realises its full potential:

*Leverage green infrastructure to position the North East as a sustainable investment destination for data centres.

* Create a regionally grounded innovation ecosystem and infrastructure roadmap.

* Develop more industry-academic partnerships to address the skills gap.

Dr David Dunn, Chief Executive Officer of Dynamo North East C.I.C, said: “The North East is already home to key research centres and advanced data projects, including Newcastle University’s National Innovation Centre for Data and Durham University’s plans for a new supercomputing facility. At the same time, major private sector investments are being proposed that could significantly increase the region’s national and international visibility.

“However, as the report notes, real economic value will come not only from data centres themselves, but from the surrounding infrastructure, skills and partnerships they help unlock. This requires a collective effort from government, industry, universities and the wider community.”