The UK Data Centre Boom Is Building $31 Billion of Infrastructure by 2033. Here Is Why FRP Is the Secondary Infrastructure Specification That Makes It Last.

The UK data centre construction market generated £9.7 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach £25.1 billion by 2033. Over £47 billion of investment has been announced since 2023 alone. The facilities being built now will operate for 25 years. Every secondary infrastructure decision made during construction — cable trays, grating, walkways, structural profiles, perimeter fencing — determines their maintenance cost profile for that entire period. Here is why FRP is the specification that gets those decisions right.

Published by Reinforce Technology  |  May 2026

The UK data centre sector is in the middle of the largest construction programme in its history. Over £47 billion of data centre investment has been announced in the UK since 2023, driven by AI computing demand, cloud infrastructure expansion, and the government's designation of data centres as critical national infrastructure. Data centre construction projects are set to surge 13% in 2026, with 29 schemes in London alone holding planning permission and ready to start. Google's £5 billion programme, Microsoft's £12 billion commitment, and the £10 billion Blackstone AI campus in Blyth are all at advanced construction or early operational stages — setting 2026 as the year UK AI infrastructure moves into full acceleration.

Inside every one of these facilities, the secondary infrastructure — the cable trays routing power and data cables, the raised floor access grating, the maintenance walkways above hot aisle containment, the equipment platform supports, and the perimeter security fencing — represents the infrastructure that everything else depends on to function safely and reliably for a quarter century. It receives a fraction of the engineering attention given to servers, cooling systems, and power distribution. And in many cases, it is specified in galvanised steel — a material whose limitations in the specific operating environment of a modern data centre are well documented and entirely avoidable.

FRP (Fibre Reinforced Polymer) secondary infrastructure addresses those limitations through material science. This article covers the full range of FRP products relevant to data centre secondary infrastructure, explains why each matters for a 25-year operating asset, and sets out the operational and financial case for specifying FRP across the complete secondary infrastructure package of a new data centre build.

The UK data centre construction market is forecast to grow from £9.7 billion in 2025 to £25.1 billion by 2033. The secondary infrastructure specified during construction — cable trays, grating, walkways, fencing — determines the maintenance cost profile of these assets for 25 years. | Photo:Alexey Andreyev

Why Data Centre Secondary Infrastructure Is a Specification-Critical Decision

A data centre is an environment where unplanned downtime has immediate and measurable commercial consequences. Depending on the tier classification and the nature of the workload, a single hour of unplanned downtime in a hyperscale facility can cost tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenue, contractual SLA penalties, and reputational damage. The operational model of a data centre — continuous, 24-hour, 365-day availability — is incompatible with the kind of maintenance access that corroding secondary infrastructure eventually demands.

Modern data centres, and AI-focused facilities in particular, operate in conditions that are significantly more demanding for secondary infrastructure than conventional office or light industrial buildings. Power densities in AI GPU racks can reach 50 to 100 kilowatts or more — creating high thermal loads on cable management infrastructure. Liquid cooling systems introduce persistent elevated humidity and condensation cycling in localised zones. High-voltage DC bus systems for GPU power delivery operate alongside high-voltage AC distribution throughout the facility. And the total cable density in a hyperscale data centre — with multiple redundant power paths and extensive data cabling — creates cable tray loading demands that require both structural performance and long-term dimensional stability.

Steel secondary infrastructure in this environment begins to corrode at fixing points and cut edges within years of commissioning as humidity and condensation cycling attack the galvanised zinc coating. FRP secondary infrastructure does not corrode, is electrically non-conductive throughout its design life, and requires no maintenance intervention in the operating environments that data centres present. These are not marginal advantages. In a facility where every maintenance access event in a live electrical zone carries downtime risk and operational overhead, the elimination of corrosion-driven maintenance from the secondary infrastructure programme is a directly quantifiable benefit.

FRP Cable Trays — The Most Critical Secondary Product

Cable trays are the most extensively used secondary infrastructure product in any data centre. They route power cables from distribution boards to PDUs at rack level, data cables between patch panels and active equipment, and control cables throughout the building management and security systems of the facility. In a large hyperscale data centre, the total installed cable tray run can extend to kilometres across multiple layers of overhead installation.

The case for FRP cable trays in a data centre rests on three properties that steel cannot match simultaneously. First, non-conductivity. FRP cable trays cannot become accidental current paths in the event of a cable insulation fault. They require no earthing or bonding programme — eliminating a specialist installation task that adds cost and ongoing compliance verification to a steel cable tray installation. In a high-voltage DC environment, where arcing is more persistent and harder to interrupt than in AC systems, this non-conductivity directly reduces the electrical risk profile of the cable management infrastructure (IntechOpen, 2022).

Second, corrosion immunity in cooling zones. The areas around liquid cooling infrastructure, rear-door heat exchangers, and direct liquid cooling distribution manifolds introduce persistent elevated humidity and periodic condensation onto secondary infrastructure. Galvanised steel cable trays in these zones begin to deteriorate at fixing points and cut edges within years. FRP cable trays in the same zones perform identically across a 25-year design life with no corrosion-related degradation.

Third, weight. FRP cable trays are approximately 75 to 80% lighter than equivalent steel sections (IntechOpen, 2022). In dense overhead multilayer cable tray installations, this weight saving reduces the dead load on the structural ceiling system, allows support brackets to be spaced further apart, and enables single-operative handling during installation — compressing the fit-out programme on projects where delivery speed has direct commercial value.

FRP cable trays in data centres eliminate the earthing and bonding programme, provide corrosion immunity in cooling zones, and reduce structural ceiling loading — three simultaneous advantages that steel cannot match. | Photo: Getty Images

FRP Raised Floor Grating and Access Walkways

Data centres using raised floor plenum systems — increasingly common in AI facilities where underfloor cold air distribution supplements liquid cooling — require access flooring panels and walkway systems that provide safe technician access to the underfloor cabling and cooling distribution beneath the floor tiles. In facilities with active cooling systems, the underfloor environment is persistently humid.

FRP moulded grating panels provide anti-slip access flooring that performs without degradation in this persistent humidity environment. The anti-slip surface is integral to the FRP panel — bonded grit embedded during manufacture that cannot be worn away, dissolved by cleaning chemicals, or degraded by UV. It maintains consistent slip resistance throughout the operational life of the facility in the wet and chemically cleaned conditions that data centre maintenance requires.

Above the raised floor, maintenance walkways between hot and cold aisles — and above overhead cable runs in facilities with hot aisle containment systems — require grating that can be safely walked under load in the elevated temperature and humidity conditions present in operational hot aisle zones. FRP grating's thermal non-conductivity means it does not transfer heat laterally in the way that steel grating does, contributing marginally but consistently to the thermal management of the operational environment. Its corrosion immunity means it does not require inspection, recoating, or replacement across the operational life of the data centre.

FRP Structural Profiles and Equipment Platforms

Data centres require equipment platforms, maintenance access structures, and secondary support systems for cooling equipment, power distribution units, UPS systems, and battery storage infrastructure at various levels throughout the building. These platforms and support structures in cooling-intensive zones are exposed to the same persistent humidity that affects cable management, and are subject to the same corrosion liability if specified in galvanised steel.

FRP pultruded structural profiles — I-beams, C-channels, box sections, angle profiles — provide the load capacity required for equipment platform and support structure applications at 75 to 80% of the weight of equivalent steel, with corrosion-immune performance across the full design life of the facility. Their non-magnetic properties mean they do not interfere with electromagnetic instrumentation or building management system sensors in proximity to the structures. Their non-conductivity eliminates the earthing requirements that steel structural elements in electrically sensitive zones demand.

In battery storage rooms — an increasingly significant element of data centre power infrastructure as on-site energy storage grows in importance — FRP structural profiles for battery rack support structures provide non-conductive, corrosion-resistant secondary support in an environment where both battery electrolyte vapour exposure and electrical safety requirements make steel a technically inferior specification.

FRP Perimeter Fencing

Data centres are classified as critical national infrastructure. In January 2026, the UK Parliament established the Data Centres All-Party Parliamentary Group to enhance understanding of the sector and evaluate its role in national infrastructure. Physical perimeter security is a requirement — not just for asset protection but as part of the cyber resilience and operational continuity obligations that data centre operators carry.

FRP mesh perimeter fencing delivers security performance that steel fencing cannot sustain over a 25-year operational horizon without active maintenance. Steel mesh fencing corrodes, losing dimensional integrity at mesh weld points and post bases as zinc coatings degrade — reducing the physical security performance of the perimeter progressively over time. FRP mesh fencing maintains its structural integrity, mesh geometry, and surface condition without corrosion-related degradation across the full operational life of the facility.

FRP perimeter fencing is non-conductive — eliminating earthing and bonding requirements for fencing in proximity to the electrical infrastructure of the data centre site. It is radar and signal transparent — important for data centres where perimeter surveillance systems incorporate radar-based intrusion detection. And it has no scrap metal value, removing it as a target for metal theft — a documented security risk at data centre perimeter fencing where organised criminal groups have targeted metal infrastructure.

FRP perimeter fencing at data centres is non-conductive, radar transparent, and corrosion-immune — sustaining physical security performance across a 25-year operational horizon without the maintenance intervention that steel fencing requires.

The Whole-Life Cost Case Across All Products

The upfront material cost of FRP across all secondary infrastructure products — cable trays, grating, structural profiles, fencing — is typically 1.5x to 2x higher than equivalent galvanised steel. Against a data centre capital cost of hundreds of millions of pounds, the FRP material premium across the secondary infrastructure package is a small fraction of the total project budget. The operational cost of accessing live electrical zones in a data centre for corrosion-driven maintenance or replacement — with the associated downtime risk, safety planning, and permit-to-work overhead — is disproportionately high relative to that premium.

A peer-reviewed lifecycle cost analysis comparing glass fibre reinforced polymer and conventional steel found approximately 50% cost savings in favour of GFRP over a 100-year study period, driven primarily by the elimination of corrosion-related maintenance and replacement (Younis, Ebead and Judd, 2018). The break-even point for FRP against steel in corrosive or humid environments typically falls within 8 to 12 years. For a data centre with a 25-year design life, the majority of the operational period is spent in net positive territory for FRP.

The earthing and bonding programme that steel cable management and structural elements require across a large data centre is a meaningful installation cost that FRP eliminates. The specialist compliance verification of earth continuity across kilometres of steel cable tray runs — required at installation and periodically throughout the operational life — is an ongoing overhead that FRP does not generate. And the downtime risk associated with any maintenance access to live secondary infrastructure in an operating data centre is an operational liability that FRP's maintenance-free performance profile removes from the asset's operational risk register.

For data centre developers, EPC contractors, and asset owners making specification decisions on current UK projects, FRP secondary infrastructure is not a premium option requiring justification. It is the specification that most accurately reflects the operational demands, the financial model, and the 25-year performance horizon of the asset being built.

Reinforce Technology FRP Products for Data Centres

Reinforce Technology supplies the full range of FRP secondary infrastructure products for data centre applications across the UK and internationally — cable trays, grating, structural profiles, and perimeter fencing — in a single supply relationship that covers the complete secondary infrastructure package of a new data centre build.

FRP cable trays and cable management — ladder trays, channel trays, perforated trays, and solid bottom configurations. Available in polyester and vinyl ester resin systems. Fire-retardant formulations available for zones where flame spread performance is a design requirement. Snap-fit and bolt-together connection systems that eliminate welding from the installation programme.

FRP moulded grating — anti-slip raised floor access panels and maintenance walkway grating. Open mesh and mini-mesh configurations. Non-conductive, corrosion-resistant, and thermally non-conductive.

FRP structural profiles — pultruded I-beams, C-channels, box sections, and angle profiles for equipment platforms, battery rack supports, and secondary structural applications in cooling-intensive zones.

FRP perimeter fencing — non-conductive, corrosion-immune mesh fencing systems for data centre site perimeters. Radar transparent. No scrap metal value.

We work with data centre developers, M&E contractors, EPC contractors, and procurement teams across the UK's hyperscale, colocation, and edge computing construction pipeline. All products are manufactured in certified facilities under a full quality management system, with complete material traceability documentation available for project QA. Contact us to discuss your project and the correct FRP specification for each secondary infrastructure application.

Final confirmation of suitability for any specific data centre application — including structural adequacy for specific load configurations and resin system selection for specific environmental zones — remains the responsibility of the appointed project engineer. Reinforce Technology provides technical guidance and material recommendations based on information supplied to us, but specification sign-off should always sit with the qualified professional responsible for the design. We are happy to provide full technical data sheets and application-specific support to assist with that process.

References

Construction Wave (2026) Data Centres Spark Surge in UK Construction Starts. Available at: https://constructionwave.co.uk/2026/03/16/data-centres-spark-surge-in-uk-construction-starts/ [Accessed: May 2026].

Data Centre Insight (2025) 2026: UK's AI Data Centre Infrastructure is in Full Acceleration. Available at: https://datacentreinsight.co.uk/2025/12/29/2026-the-year-the-uks-ai-infrastructure-moves-into-full-acceleration/ [Accessed: May 2026].

Globe Newswire (2026) UK Data Center Market — Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2026–2031. Available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/04/27/3281404/0/en/ [Accessed: May 2026]. [UK data centre market CAGR of 22.12% from 2025 to 2031].

Grand View Research (2026) UK Data Center Construction Market Size and Outlook, 2033. Available at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/horizon/outlook/data-center-construction-market/uk [Accessed: May 2026]. [Market generated £9.7 billion in 2025; forecast to reach £25.1 billion by 2033 at 13% CAGR].

IEA (2026) Key Questions on Energy and AI. Paris: International Energy Agency. Available at: https://www.iea.org/reports/key-questions-on-energy-and-ai/executive-summary [Accessed: May 2026].

IntechOpen (2022) 'Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) in Civil Engineering', in IntechOpen Engineering Series. Available at: https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/84203 [Accessed: May 2026].

NACE International (2016) International Measures of Prevention, Application and Economics of Corrosion Technology (IMPACT). Houston, TX: NACE International. Available at: http://impact.nace.org/economic-impact.aspx [Accessed: May 2026].

Oxford Economics (2026) The UK's Data Centre Boom: Growth Trends, Drivers, and the Rising Power Challenge. Available at: https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/resource/the-uks-data-centre-boom-growth-trends-drivers-and-the-rising-power-challenge/ [Accessed: May 2026]. [Over £47 billion in announced UK data centre investments since 2023].

Younis, A., Ebead, U. and Judd, S. (2018) 'Life cycle cost analysis of structural concrete using seawater, recycled concrete aggregate, and GFRP reinforcement', Construction and Building Materials, 175, pp. 135–144. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.04.183.