National Grid and Emerald AI have entered into a strategic partnership to showcase how AI-powered data centres can work in harmony with the UK’s transmission network by adjusting their energy use in real time. The initiative is designed to maximise existing capacity while supporting the country’s rapidly growing digital economy.
The collaboration will feature a live demonstration of Emerald Conductor, an AI-driven platform that acts as a smart intermediary between the power grid and data centres. Scheduled for late 2025 in the UK, the demonstration will leverage advanced NVIDIA GPUs to dynamically manage energy consumption, improve grid resilience, and optimise electricity usage during peak demand.
The UK’s transmission network is built with redundancy to maintain reliability and ensure uninterrupted service for customers. Outside of peak events such as extreme summer heat or winter cold additional capacity often exists on the grid. With the ability to temporarily reduce consumption during high-demand periods, data centres can take advantage of this latent capacity, connecting more efficiently without requiring significant new infrastructure.
This partnership underscores the UK’s ambition to position itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence and advanced computing while reducing the strain on the energy grid. By utilising existing infrastructure more efficiently, National Grid working alongside the National Energy System Operator can better balance rising energy demand, encourage investment in cutting-edge technology, and accelerate the transition toward a more sustainable and flexible energy system.
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National Grid Partners has also reinforced this collaboration through a strategic investment in Emerald AI.
Steve Smith, Chief Strategy and Regulation Officer at National Grid, said:
“As the UK’s digital economy grows, unlocking new ways to flexibly manage energy use is essential for connecting more data centres to our network efficiently. This groundbreaking trial with Emerald AI demonstrates how innovative technologies can help us optimise the grid, enable increased investment in advanced computing, and deliver real benefits to the wider UK economy. We’re excited to collaborate with Emerald AI and other partners as we progress this project, exploring how smart solutions can support economic growth and the nation’s future connectivity needs.”
Varun Sivaram, Founder and CEO of Emerald AI, added: “This partnership is about showing that AI infrastructure doesn’t have to be a burden on the grid it can be a critical asset. Together with National Grid, we’re proving that flexible AI Factories can accelerate AI innovation in the UK while enhancing reliability and affordability for everyone connected to the grid.”
The 2025 trial will highlight how different AI workloads can be intelligently adjusted in real time, demonstrating that data centres can remain highly responsive to the grid without compromising performance for mission-critical operations.
Looking ahead, National Grid and Emerald AI plan to establish new technical standards for AI data centre flexibility, collaborate with enterprise customers to integrate this capability across a growing pipeline of UK facilities, and strengthen industry-wide cooperation through the NextGrid Alliance. Together, they aim to create a blueprint for aligning digital infrastructure with energy systems making the grid more reliable, reducing operational costs, and supporting the UK’s clean energy future.
