{
  "id": 15911498,
  "title": "Fuse takes on UK AI power crisis with bet on ‘faster’ data centres",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/fuse-takes-on-uk-ai-power-crisis-with-bet-on-faster-data-centres",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-21T15:33:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/fuse-takes-on-uk-ai-power-crisis-with-bet-on-faster-data-centres/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "British energy firm Fuse is venturing into the AI infrastructure market with the belief that its control over electricity supply will enable it to construct data centres more swiftly than competitors grappling with lengthy grid delays. The London-based company, co-founded by former Revolut executives Alan Chang and Charles Orr, has introduced Fuse Compute, which provides businesses access to Nvidia chips housed in UK data centres powered by Fuse. The company's initial 128 Nvidia B300 GPUs are set to become operational in December, with this number doubling to 1,024 by the second quarter of 2027. Fuse plans to expand its data centre power capacity by an additional 22 megawatts (MW) in late 2027, with further plans to add 116MW from 2028. Chang told City AM that energy costs constitute only five percent of GPU rental revenues, rendering energy costs insignificant in determining GPU rental pricing. The key advantage Fuse holds, according to Chang, is energy availability, which would allow for quicker data centre construction, thereby enabling customers to scale up their AI computing capabilities at a faster pace. This move represents a significant shift for the $5bn (£3.7bn) energy business, which commenced operations in 2022 and currently supplies electricity to 470,000 British households. The government's objective to position Britain as a global AI leader faces increasing challenges due to electricity shortages and delays in connecting data centres to the grid. Microsoft recently abandoned a £2bn AI data centre project in Essex after developer Nscale was informed that securing sufficient grid power might be delayed until the 2030s. This setback has reignited discussions about Britain's capacity to deliver the necessary infrastructure for its AI ambitions. Chang highlighted that Fuse has been developing energy infrastructure prior to the AI wave, providing it with a deep understanding of energy infrastructure that many other data centre developers lack. Fuse currently has 142MW of data centre connections in its pipeline across 15 projects, alongside over 1GW of planned power generation. The company asserts that its latest solar development was constructed at 30 percent below the industry average cost, granting it an edge over competitors dependent on third-party energy suppliers. However, these cost savings may not necessarily result in cheaper AI computing services. Chang stated that Fuse would price its GPUs competitively, rather than aiming to undercut established providers. The company's December launch will feature just 128 Nvidia B300 GPUs, while the larger developments planned for 2027 and 2028 have not yet come online. Fuse has not disclosed pricing, and contracts will be negotiated on an individual basis. Furthermore, Fuse positions itself as a British alternative to overseas cloud providers, offering domestic AI companies greater control over the processing of their data. Chang emphasized that \"compute is critical national infrastructure,\" and British AI companies can maintain sensitive data and models entirely within UK jurisdiction. He added that overseas AI companies could also leverage Fuse's UK facilities to serve British customers with reduced latency. The company anticipates that its near-term data centre projects will generate £1bn of UK infrastructure investment and support 250 construction and operational positions. This expansion follows the rapid growth of Fuse's energy business, which achieved profitability earlier this year. Chang attributed Britain's infrastructure investment challenges to its planning system, describing it as a \"self-imposed bottleneck for growth.\" The government's Compute Roadmap estimates that Britain will require at least 6GW of AI-capable data centre capacity by 2030.",
  "summary": "British energy unicorn Fuse is moving into AI infrastructure, betting that its control over electricity supply will allow it to build data centres faster than rivals struggling with lengthy grid delays. The London-based company, founded by former Revolut executives Alan Chang and Charles Orr, has launched Fuse Compute, offering businesses access to Nvidia chips hosted [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}