January 28, 2026

Top news (3)

• Meta locks in fibre supply for US AI data-centre growth: Meta signed a $6bn multi-year agreement with Corning for optical fibre/cable/connectivity, paying for fibre through 2030. The deal anchors Corning’s Hickory, North Carolina manufacturing footprint, with Meta positioned as an anchor customer. (Meta’s $6B fiber deal with Corning expands US data centers)
• Large-ticket AI capital continues to pull through compute build-outs: SoftBank completed a $41bn investment in OpenAI (end-Dec), taking OpenAI valuation to $500bn; OpenAI then contracted Cerebras for $10bn in compute (two weeks later). The same report notes >$61bn spent building hundreds of AI data centres worldwide. (SoftBank completes $41 billion OpenAI investment, fueling AI expansion)
• Kenya hyperscale signal: iXAfrica will host Oracle Cloud Infrastructure’s new public cloud region in Nairobi as colocation/host partner. The site is positioned as East & Central Africa’s largest hyperscale, AI-ready facility, with construction, power and connectivity in advanced stages. (iXAfrica and Oracle to launch Nairobi OCI public region)

Key deals & projects (by region)

North America

• Fibre / supply chain
  • Meta–Corning: $6bn fibre/cable/connectivity supply agreement (US data-centre expansion; payments through 2030). (Meta’s $6B fiber deal with Corning expands US data centers)
• On-site / adjacent power infrastructure for data centres
  • Exowatt launched ExoRise, offering turnkey land + P3 solar + battery energy infrastructure for hyperscale data centres across the US Southwest. Exowatt is Miami-headquartered, backed by Sam Altman and a16z, and raised $70m last year; expects first ExoRise pilot online by end of the year and cites a backlog of >90 GWh of signed customer demand. (Exowatt launches ExoRise to power hyperscale data centers)
• Data-centre operations / sustainability signalling
  • Prime Data Centers: Dallas 20MW and Sacramento 26MW facilities earned EPA Energy Star certification (top-25% energy performance). Prime reported 83% construction waste diversion in 2024 and targets HVO as main backup-generator fuel by 2030. (Prime Data Centers’ Dallas and Sacramento Earn Energy Star)

Europe

• Municipal fibre build
  • Czech Republic: Ústí nad Labem issued an open tender to build passive optical routes connecting municipal organisations to Metropolnet’s existing optical route. Estimated value CZK 55,000,000 (ex VAT); contract term 15/04/2026–31/10/2027; tender deadline 04/03/2026; award on lowest bid price (ex VAT). (Usti nad Labem tender for passive municipal optical network)
• European supercomputing ecosystem
  • Luxembourg: LuxProvide joined Gaia‑X, bringing experience around the MeluXina EuroHPC supercomputer; messaging emphasised trusted and sustainable federated digital infrastructure. (Gaia‑X welcomes LuxProvide to European supercomputing ecosystem)
• UK research compute visibility
  • UK: the Prince of Wales visited the National Composites Centre and viewed Isambard‑AI, a supercomputer hosted at NCC with the University of Bristol (use cases cited: climate modelling, drug development, health resilience). (Prince of Wales visits NCC to view UK innovation)

Africa

• Cloud region / colocation
  • Kenya: iXAfrica to host Oracle OCI public region in Nairobi; project described as hyperscale and AI-ready with power/connectivity progressing. (iXAfrica and Oracle to launch Nairobi OCI public region)

Asia (incl. India, ASEAN)

• Grid equipment pull-through from US data-centre build
  • India: CG Power reported quarterly PAT ₹284 crore (+19% YoY) and revenue ₹3,175 crore; unexecuted order backlog ₹15,753 crore (as of Dec 31, 2025). It also secured a ₹900 crore export order for power transformers from Tallgrass Integrated Logistics Solutions for a US data centre project, to be executed over 12–20 months. (CG Power reports FY26 quarter profit rise and data centre order)
• Macro/FDI framing for the region
  • ASEAN: DBS Research estimates the ASEAN data-centre market at ~$11–13bn in 2024; ASEAN has ~390 data centres (~1.7GW capacity) and is now fifth globally, with AI-led demand expected to drive data-centre FDI and hardware manufacturing growth. (DBS: AI expansion to cushion ASEAN economy, boost data centres)

Power & grid / interconnection highlights

United States (storage & firming)

• Long-duration storage permitting milestone
  • FERC granted a 40-year license to Rye Development and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners for the 1,200MW Goldendale pumped hydro project in Washington. Rye projects >3,000 construction jobs and >$10m/year to Klickitat County. (FERC approves 1,200MW Goldendale pumped hydro license; thermal, geothermal advances)

Storage market direction (global)

• Wood Mackenzie expects the energy storage market to continue expanding into 2026 after 106GW installed in 2025 and flags “storage for data centres” as one of the identified themes; it also references a Peak Energy–Jupiter Power sodium‑ion supply agreement (725MWh initial + 4GWh option; up to 4.75GWh). (Wood Mackenzie identifies five energy storage trends for 2026)
• Automaker entry into BESS: Ford appointed Lisa Drake as President of Ford Energy to launch a BESS business, targeting initial online capacity mid‑2027 and ≥20 GWh annually by late 2027, with planned investment of ~$2bn over the next 2 years. (Ford appoints Lisa Drake to lead Ford Energy BESS)

Urban heat / potential heat reuse narrative (UK)

• E.ON promoted district “Heat Zones” to capture local and waste heat, citing London as able to meet 38% of heating demand from recoverable waste heat; the Citigen system in the City of London combines waste heat, heat pumps and thermal storage and “cuts emissions by roughly 5,000 tonnes/year.” (Heat zones: future of affordable secure sustainable urban heating)

Policy & regulation

United States

• Chemicals approvals as a potential delivery bottleneck (and attempted fast lane): EPA created a priority review lane to accelerate TSCA reviews for chemicals used in data centres (aligned with a Sep 2025 Executive Order). Context: 456 active PMN submissions (Jan 2026) and a GAO finding that EPA met the 90‑day PMN deadline <10% of the time; House Republicans issued draft TSCA reform legislation Jan 16, 2026 with hearings Jan 22. (EPA prioritizes data center chemical reviews amid TSCA debate)
• BEAD funding mechanics dispute (Starlink): SpaceX asked state broadband offices to adopt a contract rider paying 50% of BEAD awards upon certification and the rest in equal quarterly installments over 10 years, and setting an $80/month low-cost service. SpaceX has been awarded >464,000 locations and ~$636m under BEAD; NTIA told states not to sign pending further guidance. (SpaceX seeks BEAD grant payouts in equal installments)

Technology & architecture notes (relevant to capex/opex)

• In-house accelerators roll into hyperscale regions: Microsoft announced Maia 200 inference accelerator (claims 10,145 FP4 TFLOPS and 5,072 FP8 TFLOPS, with 216GB HBM), initially deployed in US Central (Des Moines) with rollout to US West 3 (Phoenix). (Microsoft unveils Maia 200 inference accelerator for Azure)
• High-density cooling direction: Hybrid cooling (direct liquid + airflow) framed as a practical path as rack densities reach 100–200 kW; the piece contrasts greenfield liquid-first designs vs. retrofits that can be 30–50% cheaper and avoid multi-year delays. (Hybrid cooling strategies for AI-driven high-density data centres)

Two-line close

Capital is still concentrating around AI compute and the physical supply chain (fibre, grid equipment, storage), while new cloud regions continue to emerge in underpenetrated markets. Near-term delivery risk is increasingly tied to permitting/reviews and practical infrastructure constraints rather than demand.