A modular data center could be built on the site of a steelworks in South Wales, UK, after council planners approved the scheme.

Era4 intends to build the modular data center on part of the Liberty Steel plant in Newport, South Wales. The Newport City Council granted change-of-use permission for the site at a meeting last month.

According to the application, Era4 intends to use an existing building on the site to house modular data centers. The only change to the building would be the replacement of cladding on its outer walls.

The modules would be used to support AI workloads and be housed on the first floor of the building, with car parking underneath. According to the application, this is in part because of the proximity of the River Usk, which runs close to the site, and the potential for it to cause flooding.

Eight full-time jobs would be created at the data center. The application does not indicate how much IT capacity the site will have, or when it might open.

Liberty Steel still operates a plant on the site, but the building earmarked for the data center is not currently in use.

Launched last year as Carbon3.ai, Era4 rebranded last month. The company revealed details of its AI platform in September 2025, claiming at the time that it would eventually comprise 100,000 GPUs, aiming to reach more than 30 locations.

It revealed plans for a modular AI data center in Derbyshire in November 2025, and in December said it had signed an agreement to deploy Nvidia Blackwell Ultra AI infrastructure with HPE’s direct liquid-cooled servers.

On its website, the firm claims to have 50MW of available capacity and a pipeline of 4.5GW. It appears to be planning four hyperscale data centers around the UK, as well as a network of 30 “rapid deployment sites,” which could include the Newport facility.

Little information about the company and how it is funded is available, though it appears to be a subsidiary of Valencia Energy, which operates the Erin Powerplant and other similar facilities around the country. Two of Carbon3.ai’s co-founders also hold senior roles with Valencia.

Newport is located within the UK government’s South Wales AI Growth Zone, which launched last year. AIGZs are areas where data center developments are encouraged through business incentives and priority access to power.