MATTHEW BAYNES
THE DATA CENTRE INTERVIEW
Every year brings a defining moment in technology. For the UK, 2026 is the year its digital infrastructure evolves from a network of data centres into the future engine room of an AI-driven economy.
For decades, data centres have powered the digital economy. Today, the UK’ s data centre structural conversion efforts are so significant that they will change how Britain computes, communicates and competes for years to come.
However, as enterprise AI adoption becomes the norm, so does the demand for capacity, efficiency and sustainability. To meet this demand, the UK needs a governmentindustry collaboration to coordinate planning reform, grid upgrades and sustainability standards.
MATTHEW BAYNES
TITLE: VICE PRESIDENT OF SECURE POWER & DATA CENTRES, UK AND IRELAND
COMPANY: SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC INDUSTRY: ENERGY TECHNOLOGY
Matthew Baynes, Vice President, Secure Power and Data Centres, UK and Ireland, at Schneider Electric, is responsible for regional data centre markets and AI-ready, sustainable digital infrastructure
As Matthew Baynes, Vice President of Secure Power & Data Centres for the UK and Ireland at Schneider Electric, explains in this exclusive interview with Data Centre Magazine:“ The question is no longer whether growth will occur, but how intelligently and sustainably we can deliver it.”
Data centres becoming AI factories The UK is entering its fastest phase of digital infrastructure growth in its history. Plans for nearly 100 new data centre sites are in the pipeline, which speaks to the UK’ s desire to move beyond incremental expansion when it comes to its high-density, AI-first facilities.
Around 477 facilities currently operate in the UK, ranking it among the top three global data centre markets. Today, sites across London, the South East, Wales, Scotland and Greater Manchester are being designed as AI factories with largescale campuses for next-generation workloads, sovereign compute and sustainable energy integration.
“ We’ re making location, power and cooling choices with national economic implications,” Matthew explains.“ The industry needs government fast-track planning and review of national energy pricing strategies for Critical National Infrastructure( CNI) sites, underpinned by joint skills programmes to deploy at scale. That means co-developing national AI infrastructure planning in partnership.”
The UK’ s AI push has seen the government set up five AI Growth Zones as part of its Modern Industrial Strategy.
22 April 2026