Adani Group Steps Up AI Data Centre Push, Explores Nuclear Power for Long-Term Energy Needs
The Adani Group is significantly ramping up its plans to build large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) data centres across India, while also evaluating nuclear power as a long-term solution to meet their growing energy requirements. The conglomerate aims to develop AI data centre capacity exceeding 1 gigawatt across multiple locations, including Vizag, Navi Mumbai, Noida and Hyderabad.
Jeet Adani, Director at Adani Enterprises and youngest son of Group Chairman Gautam Adani, told Nikkei Asia that data centres have emerged as a core focus area for the group, with demand already surpassing projections initially set for 2030. According to him, India has a natural advantage in becoming a global hub for AI data centres due to relatively lower operating costs and recent reforms in energy regulations.
Major Investments in Digital and Airport Infrastructure
Speaking ahead of the launch of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, Jeet Adani said the group plans to invest nearly ₹1 trillion over the next five years to expand and modernise airport infrastructure across the country. Alongside airports, digital infrastructure—especially AI-focused data centres—will remain a key growth driver for the conglomerate.
As part of this strategy, the Adani Group is committing up to $5 billion towards building AI data centre infrastructure for Google in India. This follows Google’s announcement in October of a $15 billion investment over five years to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure footprint in the country.
The Adani Group’s role will be limited to developing and managing the physical infrastructure, including land, power supply, cooling systems and connectivity. The group has clarified that it does not intend to enter the cloud services or computing business itself, leaving technology operations to global players like Google.
Renewable Energy and the Nuclear Option
To power these energy-intensive data centres, the Adani Group plans to leverage its strong renewable energy portfolio. Adani Green Energy, already India’s largest renewable energy company, is expected to supply large volumes of solar and wind power to meet the rising electricity demand.
Jeet Adani noted that the group has the capability to scale renewable energy capacity rapidly and align power generation with data centre demand. However, he also acknowledged that renewable energy alone may not be sufficient in the long run, prompting the group to closely examine nuclear power as a stable and reliable energy source.
Nuclear Sector Opening Creates New Opportunities
The group’s interest in nuclear power comes at a time when India has opened the sector to private participation. Parliament recently passed new legislation allowing private Indian companies to build, own and operate nuclear power plants—an area that was previously tightly regulated.
Jeet Adani said the group sees itself as one of the largest potential investors in India’s nuclear energy space. Under the proposed model, Adani would own and operate the power plants, while reactor construction would be handled by specialised global partners.
Currently, nuclear energy accounts for just 3% of India’s electricity mix. The government aims to increase nuclear capacity from about 8 GW today to 100 GW by 2047. Jeet Adani believes that if India moves strategically, hyperscalers could be convinced to set up nearly 10 GW of data centre capacity within five years, driving demand for nearly 50 GW of renewable energy from data centres alone.
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