US President Trump officially launched his country in the UK on the 17th to visit the itinerary. The executives of American artificial intelligence (AI) industry giants such as NVIDIA and OpenAI also visited the UK. The British government announced the establishment of a new AI development zone to start the British version of the "Star Gate" gun.
The British Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology announced on the 17th that it has set up an AI Growth Zone in the northeast of England, not far from Newcastle, Blyth and Cobalt Park business parks, which are expected to attract up to 30 billion British Pounds (about NT$123 million) of private investment and more than 5,000 new high-tech value employment opportunities.
The British government said that the relevant plans will help the Northeast of England develop data computing bases with a scale of one or two in Europe.
OpenAI and NVIDIA will participate in the development of this new AI area. In January this year, OpenAI announced cooperation with companies such as NVIDIA to launch the "Stargate" project in the United States, and invested US$500 billion (about NT$15 trillion) in the next four years to develop the basic construction of US AI. In mid-September, OpenAI announced that it would enter the "Stargate UK" in the UK, with its main partners being NVIDIA and Nscale in the UK.
Nscale is an AI-based facility company and has several data computing centers that use 100% renewable energy.
OpenAI emphasizes that the "British Star Gate" will enhance the UK's "computing ownership", that is, strengthen the UK's AI computing capabilities, which are owned, self-disciplined, and do not need to rely on foreign resources, as well as related basic facilities. To implement the "Gate of the British Stars" plan, OpenAI does not rule out that it will receive more than 8,000 picture processors (GPUs) in the first quarter of next year, and may gradually increase to 31,000 sets in the future. NVIDIA will supply the "first-for-the-art" and latest generation of GPUs.
On the other hand, the British government said that the US private equity fund giant Blackstone has promised to invest 10 billion BCG in the AI settlement in Brais Town, England; as Brais Town plans to enter the AI development zone, Blackstone is expected to invest 20 billion BCG.
The implementation points of the British version of "Star Gate" plan will gradually expand to other parts of the UK in the future, not limited to the northeast of England.
The Northeast AI Development Zone of England released on the 17th covers the park area with several data computing centers that already owns, and the Brais Town, which is expected to be completed in 2028. The British side estimates that with the activation of data centers in Brais Town and the increase in power demand, the power supply in the Northeast AI Development Zone in England will increase to 1.1GW in the next six years.
The British government released the AI Opportunities Action Plan in January, focusing on building several AI development areas within the UK.
The AI Development Special Zone opens up local governments and industry sectors (including data centers, power suppliers, etc.) to apply, and pass policy support such as tax exemption and land use restrictions and exclusion. Among them, energy supply is one of the key points of the audit. Potential AI development areas must prove their ability to obtain a stable power supply of "at least" 500MW (megawatts; 1GW=1000MW) by 2030.
In addition to stable and sufficient power supply, it is also easier to win the British government's youth and designated as the AI development special area. According to official British information, the Northeast of England has the ability to supply a large amount of clean energy, including existing wind power plants, as well as developing solar and energy storage facilities.
The large amount of power demand derived from AI computing has also led to the signing of a new energy cooperation agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States. The UK Ministry of Energy Security and Clean Carbon Emissions said on the 15th that the UK and the US government will sign the "Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy" agreement during the visit period of Trump. Both companies will accelerate the expansion of new nuclear energy facilities in their country and the other side's territory.
According to official British data, one of the highlights of the agreement is that nuclear energy equipment (such as reaction furnace design) as long as a strict safety inspection is passed in the UK, the verification results can be directly provided to the US government for reference, and vice versa; this is expected to save up to 24 months of review time for all stakeholders. In addition, the British and American governments will also cooperate more closely in nuclear energy facilities with verified and applicable regulations and standards.
The British government pointed out that the UK is ending the "nuclear-free status" in the country and opening the "Golden Age of Nuclear Energy". In addition to large-scale nuclear power generation facilities, we must also accelerate the construction of small module reaction furnaces (SMRs), and GUK is the leading position in the European SMR field.
The British government said that expanding nuclear energy construction is the core factor for the UK to become the "purified energy power", improve the supply of local clean energy and ensure national energy security. Advanced nuclear energy cooperation with the United States will be integrated across nuclear fusion from SMR; Britain and the United States will use a series of practical experiments and use AI technology to create advanced simulation tools to accelerate the commercial utilization goal of nuclear fusion.
The United Kingdom and the United States will jointly organize the Global Fusion Energy Policy Summit in the United States in 2026.
North-US nuclear energy cooperation will help both parties to reduce their dependence on Russian nuclear materials. Official data shows that the UK's goal is to completely eliminate relevant relevant reasons by the end of 2028.
Extended reading: UK and NVIDIA are in contact with Europe: The largest AI factory is launched, and the GPU computing power will be greatly improved in 2026