Colt DCS London Hayes Campus Expansion: 160MW Hyperscale & AI Hub
Status: Approved / Pre-Construction Phase (Construction Start: 2026) | Location: Hayes Digital Park, London Borough of Hillingdon, West London, United Kingdom
Project Overview
Colt Data Centre Services' West London Hayes expansion is a landmark £2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) investment that significantly strengthens one of the United Kingdom’s largest hyperscale data center campuses. The project will add 97 MW of critical IT capacity through the development of three new state-of-the-art facilities, London 6, London 7, and London 8, increasing the campus’s total capacity to 160 MW across approximately 1.2 million square feet of advanced data center space. Purpose-built to meet the rapidly growing demands of hyperscale cloud providers, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing (HPC) applications, the expansion is engineered to support high-density server deployments with advanced power distribution and next-generation cooling infrastructure. The campus will be supplied through high-voltage National Grid connections scheduled for delivery by October 2027 while operating under a 100% renewable Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), reinforcing Colt DCS’s commitment to sustainable digital infrastructure. To accommodate increasingly power-intensive AI workloads, the facilities are designed with direct liquid cooling capabilities that improve thermal efficiency and support next-generation GPU clusters. Sustainability initiatives also include a district heating network that will recover and reuse excess heat to benefit the surrounding local community, reducing overall environmental impact. In addition, Colt DCS is establishing an Innovation Hub in collaboration with Brunel University London to advance research, develop future digital infrastructure technologies, and foster local talent. Together, these investments position the Hayes campus as a future-ready platform for hyperscale cloud, enterprise, and AI infrastructure while supporting the UK’s long-term digital economy and sustainability objectives.
Quick Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Project Name | Colt DCS London Hayes Campus Expansion: 160MW Hyperscale & AI Hub |
| Location | Hayes Digital Park, London Borough of Hillingdon, West London, United Kingdom |
| Status | Approved / Pre-Construction Phase (Construction Start: 2026) |
| Commissioning | Target Phase 1 (London 6) Go-Live: 2028/2029 (Full campus buildout through 2030+) |
| Total IT Load | 97 MW Expansion IT Capacity (Taking Total Hayes Campus to 160 MW Critical IT Load) |
| Total Capacity | 160 MW Total Critical IT Capacity across 1.2 Million sq ft (111,500 m²) total footprint (London 1 through London 8) |
| Tier Level | Tier III Equivalent / Concurrent Maintainability (ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISO 50001 Certified) |
| Project Type | Purpose-Built Greenfield & Expansion Hyperscale, Cloud & High-Density AI Data Center Campus |
City Profile
| Header | Details |
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| City Name | london |
| Population | 8.9 Million |
| Urban Agglomeration | 9.8 to 11.4 million |
| City GDP | £110.8 billion in 2023 |
| Per Capita Income | £69,077 in 2023 |
| City Tier | Tier 1 |
| Key Strengths | Global Financial Hub; Dense Connectivity; Low Latency to Europe and North America; large skilled talent pool. |
Companies Involved
| Header | Details |
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| Developer / Operator | Colt Data Centre Services |
| Strategic Infrastructure Partner | National Grid / SSEN (Electrical Power), Hillingdon Council, Brunel University London (Innovation Hub Partner) |
| Construction Contractor | Specialized UK & European Mission-Critical EPC Contractors |
| MEP Engineering | Colt DCS Global Engineering & Thermal Design Teams |
| Network Connectivity | Dual multi-path underground fiber entry vaults into West London fiber corridors; direct dark-fiber interconnects across London metro networks, LINX peering access, and low-latency cloud on-ramps. |
| Power Infrastructure | Dedicated high-voltage National Grid substation connections, static 2N / N+1 uninterruptible power supply (UPS) topology, and standby diesel generators restricted by planning consent to 15 hours maximum per year of operational testing. |
Technical Specifications
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| Power Capacity | 97 MW Expansion Capacity / 160 MW Total Campus Capacity |
| UPS Redundancy | 2N / N+1 Static UPS Topology |
| Cooling System | Closed-loop chilled water systems with air-side economizers, hot/cold aisle containment, and liquid-to-chip direct cooling capability engineered to support high-density AI clusters up to 3–4.5 kW/m². |
| Connectivity | Carrier-neutral platform with dual Meet-Me-Rooms (MMRs), ultra-low latency links to London financial districts, and global cloud orchestration via Colt DCS network ecosystem. |
| PUE Target | 1.35 Annualized Operational Design PUE |
| Energy Mix | 100% matched clean renewable energy procured via long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). |
Milestones
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| Announcement | April 2024 (Land Acquisition) / Late 2025 (Final £2.5B Approval) |
| Construction Start | Mid-2026 |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | 2028 / Early 2029 (London 6) |
| Full Buildout | 2029–2032+ (Phased delivery across London 6, 7, and 8) |
Investment Details
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| Total Investment | Estimated £2,500,000,000 GBP (~$3.4 Billion USD) |
| Funding | Colt Data Centre Services (Fidelity Investments) corporate capital expenditure (CapEx) allocation |