Chasing Zero UK Seminar Series

With trillions of dollars required to meet net-zero goals, states, industry leaders and investors are placing strategic bets on the emerging technologies touted as game-changers in the battle against climate change.

Our Chasing Zero seminar series explores the key solutions shaping the energy transition, assessing the legal and regulatory frameworks, commercial realities and technical dynamics at hand as the global energy industry races to remake itself for the post-carbon age.

Wired for Net Zero: How can the UK match the power demand of data centres?

As part of our ongoing seminar series, our panelists discuss the potential for the country to become a leading market for digital infrastructure.

On 18 March 2026, we hosted the latest seminar in our Chasing Zero – Energy Transition series, focusing on one of the fastest‑growing and most strategically important sectors in the UK infrastructure landscape: data centres.

The seminar was chaired by Irina Akentjeva (Partner, HSF Kramer) and brought together expert insights from Matthew Harris, (Chief Financial Officer, Kao Data) Giles Newton (Managing Director, Arcform), Robbie McColl (Investec) and Ben Worth (Counsel, Global Switch), who discussed the rapidly evolving pressures on power availability, grid capacity, financing and sustainability within the UK data centre market. 

The panel explored the growing opportunities and pressures facing developers and operators amid accelerating demand from cloud, AI and other digital services, with several key themes emerging:

• Power availability and grid capacity
  The panel highlighted that securing reliable power remains the key barrier to data centre development in the UK. Long grid connection queues, uncertainty around energisation dates and high electricity prices continue to affect investment confidence. The UK has some of the highest power costs in the OECD, and developers with viable projects remain trapped in queues behind speculative applications. 
  
  While reforms are under way, the UK grid is not yet able to accommodate the scale and speed of demand being driven by AI and digital infrastructure.
   
• A shifting geographic landscape
  Grid constraints in the South East are prompting developers to consider new regions, including Manchester and the North East. However, international comparisons show that other jurisdictions such as the US, Nordics and France benefit from faster grid delivery, lower costs or naturally lower‑carbon power sources, making them increasingly competitive destinations for large‑scale deployments. That said, the UK remains attractive for AI investment, given the customer base, connectivity, and the low-latency requirements of iterative AI workloads that need to be geographically close to end users.
   
• Financing considerations
  From a financing perspective, grid connection risk remains a central concern (lenders strongly prefer projects where the connection element is substantially progressed) and performance across sustainability markers is becoming central to underwriting decisions. Lenders are paying close attention to the certainty of grid connections, long‑term power strategies and environmental credentials such as PUE and renewable energy sourcing. 
  
  Developers, in turn, are adopting more sophisticated approaches to power procurement, including long‑term energy contracts, private wire options and on‑site generation.
   
• Supporting net zero goals
  The discussion acknowledged the tension between rising digital demand and the UK’s net zero commitments. Although renewable generation is growing, delivery timelines and network constraints continue to create challenges. The panel emphasised the importance of innovation and policy support to ensure that data centres can grow sustainably while contributing to the UK's wider decarbonisation ambitions. For example, data centres are increasingly being integrated into regional energy networks and can help provide flexibility to the grid, as well as contribute waste heat to heat networks.
   
• Emerging solutions
  A range of potential solutions were discussed, including greater use of private wire and behind‑the‑meter arrangements, co-located flexible generation, battery storage and increased digitalisation across the grid. While not a silver bullet, such arrangements are proving attractive in markets like Singapore, the US and the Netherlands. These represent important tools in easing pressure on the network and supporting future growth. 

Conclusion

Despite the challenges, the panel remained optimistic about the UK’s position as a leading market for digital infrastructure. Once energised, the British grid is generally considered very stable. The panel noted its inherent conservatism - while the grid may not push tolerances as far as some would like, it delivers reliability. Continued regulatory reform, innovation in power strategy and close industry–government collaboration will be crucial in ensuring the sector can expand responsibly while supporting national net zero goals.

Our next event in the series will explore the future of gas, examining the key developments shaping today’s market. The discussion will focus on the factors driving change across the sector. Please stay tuned for further details.

Fuelling the Future: Unlocking the UK's biofuels potential for net zero

Read the key takeaways from our panel discussion on how regulatory support and innovation can position the country as a leader in sustainable energy.

On 6 November 2025, we hosted the second seminar in our Chasing Zero – Energy Transition seminar series titled Fuelling the Future: Unlocking the UK’s biofuels potential for Net Zero.

The seminar was chaired by Irina Akentjeva (Partner, HSF Kramer) and featured a panel discussion with insights from Vanessa Lowe (Vice President, Structured Finance, Santander), Giacomo Rossi (Co-Founding Partner, Vesper Infrastructure Partners), and Shikhar Saha (Senior Legal Counsel, Alfanar).  

The panel had an interesting discussion on the financial, regulatory and commercial challenges facing the UK's biofuel industry, with the following emerging as key themes:

• Regulatory certainty
  The UK's regulatory framework was highlighted as a major driver of international investment in biofuels such as sustainable aviation fuel. The panel highlighted that the clear direction provided by the current framework enables investors and businesses to plan for the long term with greater confidence. While it was acknowledged that permitting and delivery of projects can be slower in the UK than in other jurisdictions the panel recognised that the UK Government was trying to address this issue through policy reforms.
   
• Feedstock supply and market challenges
  The panel discussed the issues with ensuring a reliable and sustainable feedstock supply and how this remains a significant hurdle to the widespread commercialisation of biofuels. There was recognition that Government could have a role in helping the different biofuels industries reach the necessary scale for domestic supply chains to develop effectively, fostering a robust ecosystem of feedstock suppliers and biofuel producers. Given limited public resources the panel considered that there was a strong case for Government support to be targeted to those areas, such as the aviation and maritime sectors, where there are limited alternatives to biofuels as a means of decarbonising those sectors.
   
• Energy security
  The panel touched on how the war in Ukraine has affected energy security concerns across the UK and Europe and the general impact higher energy prices are having on the public's attitude towards net zero goals. The panel emphasised the need to reframe the narrative around biofuels to underscore their contribution to domestic energy security, especially when sourced from local feedstocks. They suggested that further emphasis could be placed on the advantages of biofuels as “drop-in fuels,” which can integrate with existing infrastructure without substantial modification.

The panel concluded on an optimistic note by expressing confidence in the future of biofuels as a central component of the UK's net zero strategy. Continued regulatory support for biofuels coupled with industry innovation will help position the UK as a leader in the transition to sustainable energy.

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