Big Tech's Nuclear Pivot: Powering AI Ambitions with Atomic Energy

Big Tech's dash for nuclear power

Big Tech is going nuclear. In the past week, Amazon agreed with utilities in Washington state to support development of four next-generation "small modular reactors", with a similar deal in Virginia, and took a stake in X-energy, an SMR developer. Google agreed to buy power from SMRs to be built by a start-up, Kairos Power. And last month Microsoft agreed a 20-year power purchasing deal that will entail Constellation Energy reopening a unit at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania that was shuttered in 2019 (not the one closed in 1979 after a partial meltdown). The tech industry's dash for nuclear reflects in part the take-off of power-guzzling artificial intelligence; an AI query consumes up to 10 times the energy of a standard Google search. Goldman Sachs reckons power demand from data centres will grow 160 per cent by 2030. In the US, data needs on top of electrification of transport and a manufacturing revival sparked by "reshoring" efforts are forecast to at least double electricity demand growth in the next decade compared with the prior one. In Europe, Goldman estimates power demand could grow by 40 per cent from 2023 to 2033. The International Energy Agency declared last week that, after the age of coal and age of oil, the world was entering the age of electricity. Tech companies know that to get data centres built in countries such as the US, they will have to arrange much of their own power. Their net zero pledges require the sources to be green, and they have already invested heavily in wind and solar. Expanding their portfolios to nuclear energy is understandable, but something of a gamble. Nuclear has a strong claim, in principle, to be part of the climate solution. It is low carbon, delivers lots of power for decades and doesn't falter when wind or sunlight does. The trouble is large plants are cripplingly costly and time-consuming to build. SMRs -- reactors up to 300 megawatts, compared with 1,000MW for large nuclear plants -- claim to offer a cheaper, faster alternative. Largely prefabricated to cookie-cutter designs, their small size in theory means they can be installed close to where power is needed, and on sites such as former coal plants already plugged into the grid. But they may face similarly hefty costs to larger units to get designs approved by regulators, in a sector where safety is paramount. They might divert critical investment from proven solar, wind and batter power systems. SMRs also remain unproven. Based on the three SMR-style projects in operation and a fourth being built, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis calls them "still too expensive, too slow and too risky". Bringing in Big Tech's financial clout and innovative flair may aid SMRs' development, and accelerate the shift from largely government-led and financed nuclear development to private financing and initiative (look what Elon Musk has done to the economics of space). But finding ways to reopen or extend the life of existing nuclear stations might prove more feasible; as well as Three Mile Island, a plant in Michigan is being recommissioned. Either way, the surge in AI-driven data demand even before 2030 means Big Tech will probably have to invest still more in wind and solar. Amid the competition for resources, regulators will have to ensure deep-pocketed tech companies do not lock up large parts of the new energy supply. One option might be to insist clean energy projects for data centres are made large enough also to supply the grid or other customers. There is also scope to use AI to improve energy efficiency in factories, offices and across grids. In the new age of electricity, AI must be not just another energy-hungry mouth to feed, but a central part of the green solution.

Nuclear energy stocks hit record highs on surging demand from AI

Shares in nuclear energy companies surged to record highs this week after Amazon and Google struck landmark power supply deals, boosting efforts to deploy the first small modular reactors (SMRs) in the US. The share prices of US-listed SMR developers Oklo Inc and NuScale power rose by 99 per cent and 37 per cent respectively in the past week, after rivals X-energy and Kairos Power, two private SMR developers, announced the financing agreements. Shares in Cameco, Oklo, NuScale, Constellation and BWX Technologies all traded at record highs over the week. The deals support the deployment of up to a dozen next-generation reactors to provide low-carbon electricity to power Amazon and Google's energy-hungry artificial intelligence data centres. Investors regarded the announcements as evidence that a nuclear renaissance is gathering pace, after a slump following the Fukushima accident in Japan in 2011. The proliferation of data centres is driving historic growth in US power demand, undermining efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuel and decarbonise. Shares in Constellation Energy Group, which operates the largest fleet of conventional reactors in the US, have more than doubled since the start of the year. Last month Constellation signed a 20-year power supply deal with Microsoft, which will lead to the reopening of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. The location was the site of the most serious nuclear accident in US history, when one of the reactors suffered a partial meltdown. Uranium producer Cameco's shares are up 38 per cent this year while nuclear components supplier BWX Technologies' stock has surged 65 per cent. Reactor companies "have been saying for some time they would be needed to meet the AI power demand boom but no one seemed to believe them", said Seth Grae, chief executive of Lightbridge Corporation, a nuclear fuel developer and chair of the American Nuclear Society's International Council. "These large investments show the tech industry does not feel renewables and batteries can provide enough stable or cost-effective power and nuclear will be needed," he said. Until recently investors have been wary about financing the rollout of small reactors, which are touted by proponents as smaller, safer and more efficient than large-scale nuclear reactors. Concerns about the industry's record of delivering projects on time and on budget, combined with high interest rates and a shortage of customers willing to underwrite projects, had slowed progress. Last year X-Energy was forced to pull a $1.8bn deal to go public through a special purpose acquisition company because of "challenging market conditions". Shortly afterwards, NuScale cancelled plans to build the first small reactor in the US. Not enough power utilities expressed an interest in purchasing electricity from it after it increased prices by more than 50 per cent over two years to $89 per megawatt hour. "The dilemma for the [small reactor] industry was that customers did not want to sign up for 'reactor number one', as it is more expensive and riskier to build than subsequent reactors," said Marc Bianchi, an analyst at TD Cowen. Amazon and Google's decision to invest in small reactors reflect their need to source reliable, cost-effective and clean electricity to power a new wave of AI data centres. In the first half of 2024, new data centres totalling nearly 24GW were announced by companies, more than triple the same period last year, according to Wood Mackenzie. "It's not just about replacing the existing fossil generation but it's that we need to build more now. This has created a true sense of urgency," said Mike Laufer, founder and chief executive of Kairos Power, which inked a deal with Google this week to deploy six or seven small reactors by 2035. The industry is also benefiting from billions of dollars of funding from the US government, which is concerned Russia and China -- which have deployed a handful of small reactors -- could become unassailable leaders in the nuclear sector. Washington is also cognisant of the need to ensure a stable power system to maintain its lead in AI technologies without leading to an increase in emissions. "The only constraint on the US remaining the leader in artificial intelligence is power. It's not land, it's not chips, it's power. And so that's objective number one," said Clay Sell, chief executive of X-Energy. But this week's euphoria around nuclear energy, and small reactors in particular, masks significant risks in deploying a new generation of technology that has been prone to delays and cost overruns in the past, warn critics. Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said X-energy's and Kairos' SMRs were "untested designs" and would probably take much longer to deploy than their target dates in 2030 and beyond. "The path to safe and reliable commercial operation for any experimental nuclear technology is bound to be rocky and it is virtually impossible today to estimate what the ultimate cost of power will be," he said. Tough regulatory standards and challenges remain hurdles, developers of competing energy sources say. "The euphoria is a little bit overblown," said Andres Gluski, chief executive of AES, the largest corporate renewables developer, which has signed 5.8GW of power purchase agreements with Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Solar, wind, and battery storage make up 95 per cent of all capacity waiting to connect to the grid, while nuclear makes up less than 1 per cent, according to data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. No small reactor projects have begun construction in the US, and more than 80 per cent of announced capacity has yet to enter the development pipeline, according to Wood Mackenzie. But small reactor developers say they are confident the tech giants' support is the game changer they need. "The tech community has placed value on not just carbon free benefits, but also availability and reliability," said Clayton Scott, chief commercial officer at NuScale. "The momentum is here."

Tech giants go nuclear in AI arms race

The artificial intelligence arms race has gone nuclear. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are now looking to outgun each other with announcements on atomic energy, which they hope will power a technology that is consuming electricity at an alarming rate. The US tech juggernauts, convinced that AI is technology's next big chapter, are investing billions to expand data centers globally. According to Goldman Sachs research, data centers will consume 8 percent of US power by 2030, up from 3 percent in 2022. In Europe, their power needs by 2030 will match the current combined consumption of Portugal, Greece, and the Netherlands. The driving force is the tech giants that want to build the best AI systems they can using bigger and bigger data centers, which incur a tremendous amount of electricity consumption and CO emissions. As tech companies seek energy sources to meet these demands while maintaining their zero-carbon emission commitments, nuclear power has emerged as a compelling option. Although expensive and politically sensitive to build, nuclear power provides consistent, zero-carbon electricity once operational. "Tech companies aren't in love with nuclear, but they want carbon-free, reliable, and predictable energy 24/7," explained Jacopo Buongiorno, Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. "The cost may be high, but it's predictable for 60 years." 'Huge numbers' Nuclear reactors are vastly more expensive to build than solar or wind power facilities, so nuclear energy really only makes sense for the tech titans that generate tens of billions in annual profits. Rob Bittencourt of Apollo Global Management said that the cost of the industry's data center buildout was a trillion dollars and that the electricity supply needed to generate the power necessary was enormous. "These are huge numbers, but Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google can afford to play the long game," he told the Odd Lots podcast. Several approaches are being considered. One strategy involves extending the life of aging nuclear plants. Microsoft recently announced a 20-year agreement with Constellation Energy to restart Unit 1 at Three Mile Island, shut down five years ago for economic reasons. The announcement struck a nerve as the 1979 partial meltdown of Unit 2 at the site caused panic in the United States and brought the expansion of nuclear energy to a standstill. Similarly, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is turning to the 40-year-old reactor at Susquehanna Steam Electric Station to power a nearby data center complex. 'Unpleasant surprises' Another approach focuses on investing in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), but these compact, potentially easier-to-deploy reactors are still experimental. Amazon has announced investments in SMR projects, including a direct investment in start-up X-energy. Google is partnering with Kairos Power to develop SMRs that could be operational as early as 2030. However, challenges remain. SMR technology may not be immediately reliable, and the tech giants lack experience in nuclear projects that could see "unpleasant surprises" along the way, according to Buongiorno. Safety concerns also persist, given the history of nuclear accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima, the 2011 disaster in Japan. Despite these challenges, industry leaders remain optimistic. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is investing billions in his own SMR startup Terrapower, acknowledges the difficulties but expresses confidence in making a strong case for nuclear power's role in the AI-driven future. His project has begun construction in Wyoming, but is still awaiting approval from the US nuclear regulator. "I'm putting billions into it because I'm quite confident we can make that case," he said at a recent event in New York.

Tech giants go nuclear in AI arms race

Washington (AFP) - The artificial intelligence arms race has gone nuclear. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are now looking to outgun each other with announcements on atomic energy, which they hope will power a technology that is consuming electricity at an alarming rate. The US tech juggernauts, convinced that AI is technology's next big chapter, are investing billions to expand data centers globally. According to Goldman Sachs research, data centers will consume 8 percent of US power by 2030, up from 3 percent in 2022. In Europe, their power needs by 2030 will match the current combined consumption of Portugal, Greece, and the Netherlands. The driving force is the tech giants that want to build the best AI systems they can using bigger and bigger data centers, which incur a tremendous amount of electricity consumption and CO2 emissions. As tech companies seek energy sources to meet these demands while maintaining their zero-carbon emission commitments, nuclear power has emerged as a compelling option. Although expensive and politically sensitive to build, nuclear power provides consistent, zero-carbon electricity once operational. "Tech companies aren't in love with nuclear, but they want carbon-free, reliable, and predictable energy 24/7," explained Jacopo Buongiorno, Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. "The cost may be high, but it's predictable for 60 years." 'Huge numbers' Nuclear reactors are vastly more expensive to build than solar or wind power facilities, so nuclear energy really only makes sense for the tech titans that generate tens of billions in annual profits. Rob Bittencourt of Apollo Global Management said that the cost of the industry's data center buildout was a trillion dollars and that the electricity supply needed to generate the power necessary was enormous. "These are huge numbers, but Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google can afford to play the long game," he told the Odd Lots podcast. Several approaches are being considered. One strategy involves extending the life of aging nuclear plants. Microsoft recently announced a 20-year agreement with Constellation Energy to restart Unit 1 at Three Mile Island, shut down five years ago for economic reasons. The announcement struck a nerve as the 1979 partial meltdown of Unit 2 at the site caused panic in the United States and brought the expansion of nuclear energy to a standstill. Similarly, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is turning to the 40-year-old reactor at Susquehanna Steam Electric Station to power a nearby data center complex. 'Unpleasant surprises' Another approach focuses on investing in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), but these compact, potentially easier-to-deploy reactors are still experimental. Amazon has announced investments in SMR projects, including a direct investment in start-up X-energy. Google is partnering with Kairos Power to develop SMRs that could be operational as early as 2030. However, challenges remain. SMR technology may not be immediately reliable, and the tech giants lack experience in nuclear projects that could see "unpleasant surprises" along the way, according to Buongiorno. Safety concerns also persist, given the history of nuclear accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima, the 2011 disaster in Japan. Despite these challenges, industry leaders remain optimistic. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is investing billions in his own SMR startup Terrapower, acknowledges the difficulties but expresses confidence in making a strong case for nuclear power's role in the AI-driven future. His project has begun construction in Wyoming, but is still awaiting approval from the US nuclear regulator. "I'm putting billions into it because I'm quite confident we can make that case," he said at a recent event in New York.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft All Go Nuclear to Power A.I. Ambitions: What to Know

Big Tech is increasingly turning its focus to nuclear energy projects as it seeks out emission-free sources of power. Like its Big Tech competitors, Amazon (AMZN) is betting on nuclear power to meet A.I.'s energy demands. The company today (Oct. 16) announced a slew of nuclear energy initiatives that will see Amazon invest in numerous small modular reactors (SMRs), a next-generation nuclear plant design that is much smaller than traditional reactors and therefore easier to scale. Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter Sign Up Thank you for signing up! By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime. See all of our newsletters The deals could cumulatively provide more than 5,000 megawatts of power by the end of the next decade -- an enticing proposition for companies like Amazon, which are in dire need of clean energy as they race to develop data centers used to power A.I. models. These facilities will account for 44 percent of new electricity demand growth in the U.S. by 2028, according to a recent report from Bain & Company that noted the global energy consumption of data centers could more than double in the next three years. While the A.I. revolution has spurred the likes of Amazon, Google (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) to pour billions into data centers around the world, Big Tech companies also remain committed to carbon negative timelines. Amazon, for example, has promised to achieve net zero by 2040. Google and Microsoft made similar pledges for 2030. Nuclear energy has emerged as a promising way for tech companies to pursue their A.I. goals without skyrocketing emissions, with Google signing a similar SMR deal earlier this week and Microsoft agreeing to acquire power from a defunct nuclear plant that is looking to reopen. Even more deals are expected to come to fruition in the future. OpenAI is reportedly in talks to buy electricity from Helion, a nuclear energy startup backed by the A.I. company's CEO Sam Altman. And Yann LeCun, Meta (META)'s A.I. chief, earlier this week outlined the need for nuclear energy in a post on X. "A.I. data centers will be built next to energy production sites that can produce gigawatt scale, low-cost, low-emission electricity continuously," he said. "Basically, next to nuclear power plants." Here's a look at some of the biggest nuclear energy deals struck by Big Tech companies thus far: Amazon bets on next-generation nuclear plants Amazon's new agreements will see Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's cloud computing subsidiary, invest in the development of four SMRs from Energy Northwest, a Washington-based regional utility. Amazon would have the right to purchase energy from the reactors, which are expected to generate 320 megawatts of capacity initially and potentially expand to 960 megawatts in total -- enough energy to power more than 770,000 homes in the U.S. Through its Climate Pledge Fund, Amazon is additionally investing in X-Energy, an SMR developer whose design will be used in the Energy Northwest project. And in Virginia, AWS also signed an agreement to support utility company Dominion Energy as it explores developing an SMR near its existing North Anna nuclear power station. The initiative could bring at least 300 megawatts of power to the region, according to Amazon. "Nuclear is a safe source of carbon-free energy that can help power our operations and meet the growing demands of our customers," said Matt Garman, CEO of AWS, in a statement. This isn't Amazon's first foray into nuclear power. Last year, AWS struck a $650 million deal with Talen Energy to acquire a nuclear-powered data center in Salem Township, Penn., and purchase energy from the company's existing nuclear station. Google to purchase power from Kairos Energy On Oct. 14, the Alphabet-owned company revealed its purchase power agreement with the SMR developer Kairos Power. The agreement will see Google acquire nuclear energy from "multiple" reactors, according to the company, which said the SMRs are expected to go live by 2030 with more to come by 2035. In total, the deal should bring some 500 megawatts of power to the grid. "We believe that nuclear energy has a critical role to play in supporting our clean growth and helping to deliver on the progress of A.I.," said Michael Terrell, Google's senior director for energy and climate, on a call with reporters. Like in the case of Amazon, Google's SMR ambitions will be subject to regulatory approval. Only three SMRs are currently operational in the world, with zero located in the U.S. Microsoft wants to reopen Three Mile Island Microsoft decided to go down a more traditional route. In August, the company signed an agreement to acquire power from one of the units at Three Mile Island in Middletown, Penn., which was the site of an infamous partial reactor meltdown in 1979. Microsoft's agreement with Constellation Energy, owner of the plant, would see the unit not involved in the incident reopen. Shuttered since 2019, the unit's revival would take place in 2028 and provide Microsoft with 835 megawatts. Last year, Microsoft also signed a power purchase agreement with the Altman-backed Helion. (Microsoft is the largest investor in OpenAI.) The initiative is attempting to build a power plant commercializing nuclear fusion, which is the same process that powers the sun and stars and isn't expected to be achieved on Earth for years or even decades. Under the agreement, Helion will provide at least 50 megawatts to the tech company after its first year of operation.

Amazon and Google Sign Nuclear Energy Deals as AI Power Demands Surge

Nuclear power in the US is getting a big boost from Big Tech as energy-hungry AI usage grows. Amazon on Wednesday said is investing $500 million in developing nuclear technologies to power its data centers. That announcement came just two days after Google revealed its own nuclear energy project. "The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth," Google said in a blog post Monday. Last month, Microsoft announced plans to work with Constellation Energy to power its data centers by enlisting the help of the Three Mile Island plant, which in the late 1970s was the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history. Generative AI models, like those used by OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and Microsoft's Copilot, require massive computational power from data centers -- that is, cloud computing -- to process and analyze large datasets, complete complex tasks and train AI systems. For both Amazon and Google, the energy projects will involve a newer nuclear power technology known as small modular reactors. These advanced constructions allow for a smaller physical footprint and can be built faster than traditional reactors. Both companies also cited a mission to reduce carbon emissions, which are a significant factor driving climate change. "One of the fastest ways to address climate change is by transitioning our society to carbon-free energy sources, and nuclear energy is both carbon-free and able to scale," Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, said in a blog post. In Washington state, Amazon said, it will be working with Energy Northwest, a consortium of state public utilities, to develop four reactors expected to generate enough to power the equivalent of more than 770,000 US homes. It's also working with Dominion Energy in Virginia, where nearly half the data centers in the US are located, according to CNBC. Google said it has signed an agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors to be developed by Kairos Power, with the first coming online by 2030 and the others to follow through 2035. Amazon is also looking at a time frame of the early 2030s.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft Are Investing in Nuclear Power

Technology companies are increasingly looking to nuclear power plants to provide the emissions-free electricity needed to run artificial intelligence and other businesses. Microsoft, Google and Amazon have recently struck deals with operators and developers of nuclear power plants to fuel the boom in data centers, which provide computing services to businesses large and small. The demand has accelerated because of the big investments these and other tech companies have made in A.I., which requires far more power than more conventional technology businesses like social media, video streaming and web searches. Microsoft has agreed to pay an energy company to revive the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. And this week, Amazon and Google said they were focusing on a new generation of small modular reactors. That technology has not yet been successfully commercialized but energy experts say it might be cheaper and easier to build than the large nuclear reactors that the United States has built since the 1950s. Big technology companies, which previously invested a lot in wind and solar energy, are now gravitating toward nuclear energy because they want power that is available around the clock while producing no greenhouse gas emissions. Wind and solar don't contribute to climate change but are not available at all times without the help of batteries or other forms of energy storage. The biggest tech companies have all made pledges to power their operations with emissions-free power by 2030, but those commitments came before the boom in artificial intelligence, which has demanded more energy. "They have a desire to grow all this in a sustainable way, and at the moment the best answer is nuclear," said Aneesh Prabhu, a managing director at S&P Global Ratings. On Monday, Google said that it had agreed to purchase nuclear energy from small modular reactors being developed by a start-up called Kairos Power, and that it expected the first of them to be running by 2030. Then Amazon, on Wednesday, said it would invest in the development of small modular reactors by another start-up, X-Energy. Microsoft's deal with Constellation Energy to revive a reactor at Three Mile Island was announced last month. Mr. Prabhu said that small modular reactors could cost about $1 billion each to build and that it might one day be feasible to place them next to data centers. Technology companies are not alone in championing nuclear energy. President Biden recently signed a law passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress that its authors say will hasten the development of new nuclear energy projects. The Biden administration sees nuclear power, which provides about 20 percent of the nation's electricity now, as critical to its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. That's a change from the past when many Democrats opposed new nuclear plants because of safety, environmental and economic concerns. "Revitalizing America's nuclear sector is key to adding more carbon-free energy to the grid and meeting the needs of our growing economy -- from A.I. and data centers to manufacturing and health care," the energy secretary, Jennifer M. Granholm, said in a statement. The tech industry's backing of nuclear projects could help reinvigorate a power source that has struggled. With 94 active nuclear power plant reactors, the United States operates more units than any other country, but just two have been built here in recent decades. Both of the units were constructed at the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Ga., but ran tens of billions of dollars over budget and were years late. The two units were part of a widely anticipated "nuclear renaissance" that was projected to result in about two dozen new reactors. But those ambitions fizzled in large part because of Vogtle's problems and a failed nuclear power project in South Carolina. Technology industry executives say this time will be different, and some have staked their personal fortunes on that belief. Microsoft's co-founder Bill Gates has invested more than $1 billion in a start-up called TerraPower, which is working to develop smaller reactors in partnership with Warren Buffett's utility company PacifiCorp. The idea is that the components of each unit could be small enough to be mass-produced on an assembly line, making them cheaper. Each power plant could start with one or a few reactors, with more added over time. "The key with nuclear is you have to pick something and build a lot of it to make it cheap," said Rich Powell, the head of the Clean Energy Buyers Association, a trade group whose members include big tech companies. But critics of nuclear energy are skeptical. They argue that while the pitch from utilities and the tech companies may sound appealing, it does not address longstanding problems with nuclear energy. Those problems include the high cost of new reactors, construction delays and the lack of a permanent storage site for spent nuclear fuel. "Since 1960, the U.S. has attempted to build 250 power reactors," said Arnie Gundersen, a chief engineer at Fairewinds Energy Education, a nonprofit that opposes nuclear power. "More than half were canceled before generating any electricity. Of the remaining reactors, not one was ever completed on time and on budget." Still, many tech and energy executives say nuclear is essential because renewable sources of power like wind, solar and hydroelectric are not reliable enough to meet the growing needs for energy. Electricity use has already been growing in recent years as individuals and businesses turn to battery-powered vehicles, heat pumps and air-conditioners. Now the tech industry's data centers are turbocharging that growth. While data centers make up a small percentage of global energy consumption, their share is growing and they tend to be concentrated in certain regions, like Northern Virginia, where they can stress local grids. Data centers use electricity to run -- and, most critically, cool -- computer servers. Power is so crucial for data centers that the industry talks about the size of a building based not on its square footage but on the amount of megawatts it has secured from utilities. It takes about five to 10 kilowatts to power a single rack of servers in a typical data center, but a rack filled with advanced A.I. computing chips can demand well over 100 kilowatts, Raul Martynek, the chief executive of DataBank, a data center company, said in a recent interview. "From an infrastructure perspective, it is an order of magnitude more intensive," he said. The tech giants have stepped up their spending to stunning levels, in large part to meet the demand and potential they see for A.I. The five largest tech companies, including Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, spent a combined $59 billion on capital expenses in the last quarter alone, 63 percent more than a year earlier. And they have signaled to investors they plan to keep spending. Amazon this year spent $650 million to buy a data center campus under development that will be directly powered by an existing nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. In additional to the Three Mile Island deal, Microsoft has agreed to buy power from Helion Energy, a Seattle-area start-up seeking to build the world's first nuclear fusion power plant by 2028.

Tech’s Race to Go Nuclear Is Exciting. It’s Also Going to Be Really Frickin' Hard

Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are all pushing for a nuclear-power fueled future. It's a huge gamble. It’s a huge week for nuclear energy. On Monday, Google announced it had penned a deal to get some of its energy from small modular nuclear reactors. Two days later, Amazon announced its plan to invest $500 million towards the development of its own SMRs. The news comes just a month after Microsoft announced plans to reopen Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power its data centers. After decades of a lengthy and painful drawdown, nuclear energy is back. Tech companies, hungry to fuel burgeoning data centers and the incredible electric costs of AI, might just be pushing the planet’s power grid to the future. Nuclear energy has a lot of things to recommend, but there’s a reason more plants have been shut down than have been built over the last fifty years. Nuclear power is expensive, the construction times long, and the cost of a mistake is deadly. Nuclear energy is efficient and, aside from when things go disastrously wrong, clean. It doesn’t warm the planet like coal or oil and it uses far fewer natural resources than other forms of energy. The world turned away from it following a series of high-profile nuclear disasters but now big tech, fueled by the promises of new and different kinds of reactors, is rushing headlong into a nuclear future. Why? AI. “The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth,†Google said in a press release announcing its nuclear initiative. Microsoft may be spinning up an old plant, but it’s also investing in new tech in Wyoming where construction has already begun on a new kind of reactor using molten salt. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are all pursuing small modular reactors which the companies promise will be cheaper and easier to set up than the older models. This new tech is designed to sidestep one of nuclear energy’s biggest problems: time and money. Nuclear power plants are expensive and take years to build. A traditional plant can take a decade or more to come online. Georgia and South Carolina are the only two states that have attempted to build new reactors in the last 20 years. Georgia succeeded at great cost, South Carolina failed also at great cost. South Carolina started its new reactors in 2008. It was a disaster. The state spent more than $9 billion on the project and the reactors were never built. Construction was repeatedly delayed, cost estimates grew to $25 billion and the power company in charge of the project started to hike customer’s power bills to pay for the cost overruns. Subsequent investigations into the project revealed that the construction was a scam. Executives at the power companies lied about the cost of the project and how long it would take to finish. Several of them plead guilty to fraud charges and went to prison. The new reactors in Georgia fared better, but the costs were incredible. The plan was to add two new reactors to an existing plant. Georgia approved construction plans in 2009. The initial pitch was that it would be ready by 2017 and cost $14 billion. The last of the new reactors finally came online earlier this year and the total cost landed at almost $35 billion. Like in South Carolina, the power companies hiked rates in Georgia and passed some of the cost overruns on to the consumer. Before the power plants in Georgia, America’s newest nuclear plant entered service in 2016. Construction on it had begun in 1973. Before that, the U.S. hadn’t seen a new nuclear power plant since 1996. Europe is ever more bearish on nuclear power than the U.S. When nuclear power goes bad, it goes really bad. Disasters at a nuclear plant are rare, but they’re never small and their impact extends beyond the borders of the country where the plant is located. Chernobyl signaled what horrors were possible, but it was Fukushima in 2011 that really turned the world against nuclear power. Germany closed its last nuclear power plant in 2023. Italy shut its plants down after the Chernobyl disaster and has a moratorium on the construction of new plants. Several countries in Europe have similar prohibitions around the construction of new plants. In South Korea, the issue of nuclear power is a contentious one that informs the policy decisions of presidential candidates. But tech is hungry for power. Data centers and AI burn thousands of megawatts every year. And the promise of nuclear energy may be great enough for tech to invest both the time and money it needs to see returns on their investment in the long term. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are also all pursuing new kinds of nuclear reactors that promise to be both cheaper, easier to set up, and safer than the previous forms. The pitch of small modular reactors is that they cost about one third of a traditional reactor. Developers are promising that they can be constructed fast, have a smaller footprint than the massive cooling towers of a traditional reactor, and can be scaled up as needed. To date, not a single small modular reactor has come online. These new reactors are a gamble, a promising one, but still a gamble. According to Google, its first small reactors will spin up in 2030. That’s a long time to wait in the fast moving world of advanced technology. There won’t be fewer data centers next year and it remains to be seen if these tech companies can build power plants faster than they consume electricity.

Amazon and Google have plans for fueling their data centers: nuclear power

Amazon on Wednesday said it has a plan to feed its growing need for power: investing in small nuclear reactors. The announcement comes just two days after Google said it's pursuing a similar path by purchasing nuclear energy from Kairos Power. The tech giants are seeking new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence, with their plans coming after Microsoft said last month that it will buy energy from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. All three companies have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Now they say they need to go further in the search for clean electricity to meet both demand and their own commitments to cut emissions. The tech partnerships to buy nuclear power could be a "marriage made in heaven," noted Tim Winter, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, in an email to CBS MoneyWatch. "Big Tech wants power to fuel huge new AI data centers" because a lack of U.S. power supply could slow down technological developments. Nuclear energy is a climate solution in that its reactors don't emit the planet-warming greenhouse gases that come from power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas. The demand for power is surging globally as buildings and vehicles electrify, and with the rise of AI. People used more electricity than ever last year, placing strain on electric grids around the world. Much of the demand comes from data centers and artificial intelligence. The International Energy Agency forecasts that data centers' total electricity consumption could reach more than 1,000 terawatt hours in 2026, more than doubling from 2022. Estimates suggest one terawatt hour can power 70,000 homes for a year. "AI is driving a significant increase in the amount of data centers and power that are required on the grid," Kevin Miller, Amazon Web Services' vice president of global data centers, told The Associated Press, adding: "We view advanced new nuclear capacity as really key and essential." The United States is pursuing small modular reactors, a type of nuclear reactor that can generate up to roughly one-third the amount of power of a traditional reactor. Developers say small reactors will be built faster and at a lower cost than large power reactors, scaling to fit needs of a particular location. Developers aim to start spinning up electricity in the early 2030s, if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives permission to build and operate their designs and the technology succeeds. If new clean power isn't added as data centers are developed, the U.S. runs the risk of "browning the grid," or including more power that isn't made from clean sources, said Kathryn Huff, a former U.S. assistant secretary for nuclear energy who is now an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The reactors are currently under development, with none currently providing power to the electric grid in the U.S. Big investors can help change that, and these announcements could be the "inflection point" that makes scaling up this technology truly possible, Huff said. Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, echoed that, saying the industry needs customers who value the reliability and carbon-free attributes of nuclear energy enough to pay a premium for it at first, until a number of the next-generation reactors are deployed and the cost comes down. On Monday, Google said it was signing a contract to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors that Kairos Power, a nuclear technology company, plans to develop. The news highlights "the technologies that we're going to need to achieve round-the-clock clean energy, not only for Google but for the world," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of energy and climate, told the AP. With Kairos, Google said it expects to bring the first small modular reactor online by 2030, with more to come through 2035. The deal is projected to bring 500 megawatts of power to the grid. For context, Google consumed more than 24 terawatt hours of electricity last year, according to the company's annual environmental report. One terawatt is equal to 1,000,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, Amazon's announcements Wednesday included working with utility company Dominion Energy to explore putting a small modular reactor near its existing North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia. The e-commerce giant is investing in reactor developer X-energy for its early development work, and collaborating with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington to put four of the X-energy reactors there. Combined, the three announcements could account for more than 5,000 megawatts of power by the late 2030s with the possibility of more. All of that is still likely only a small fraction of the company's total energy consumption, a figure that Amazon does not report publicly. New reactor designs pair well with industrial applications because they can be built on a small footprint and generate reliable power, with some able to provide high-temperature heat, too, at the site, said Doug True, chief nuclear officer at the industry trade association, Nuclear Energy Institute. "It seems like a really good fit to support those facilities, and for a lot of different applications depending upon the amount of power that's needed by the customer," he said. Both Amazon and Google have committed to using renewable energy to address climate change. By 2030, Google has pledged to meet net-zero emissions, and run carbon-free energy every hour of every day on every grid where it operates. The tech behemoth says it has already matched 100% of its global electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases on an annual basis. However, the company has fallen short on decreasing its emissions. Amazon has said it would match all of its global electricity consumption with 100% renewable energy by 2030, and recently announced it met that goal early in 2023. Though the company has matched its consumption as far as offset purchases of an equivalent amount of renewable energy, that does not necessarily mean it is using the renewable energy to power its operations. Amazon saw its electricity emissions drop 11% from 2022 to 2023, but its direct emissions, which includes fuel used to transport and deliver packages, increased 7%, according to its 2023 sustainability report. The company is also targeting net zero-carbon by 2040.

Why Big Tech is turning to nuclear to power its energy-intensive AI ambitions

The OpenAI app icon displayed along with other AI applications on a smartphone. Technology giants are turning to nuclear energy to power the energy-intensive data centers needed to train and run the massive artificial intelligence models behind today's generative AI applications. Microsoft and Google are among the firms agreeing deals to purchase nuclear power from certain suppliers in the U.S. to bring additional energy capacity online for its data centers. This week, Google said it would purchase power from Kairos Power, a developer of small modular reactors, to help "deliver on the progress of AI." "The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build out of these technologies," Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, said on a call with reporters Monday. "We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand, and helping meet our demand cleanly, in a way that's more around the clock." Google said its first nuclear reactor from Kairos Power would be online by 2030, with more reactors going live through 2035. The tech giant isn't the only firm looking to nuclear power to realize its AI ambitions. Last month, Microsoft signed a deal with U.S. energy firm Constellation to resurrect a defunct reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, whose reactor has been dormant for five years. The Three Mile Island plant was the location of the most serious nuclear meltdown and radiation leak in U.S. history in March 1979, when the loss of water coolant through a faulty valve caused a reactor to overheat.

Big Tech turns to nuclear energy to power AI boom

Major technology companies are increasingly turning to nuclear energy as they attempt to keep up with the vast energy demands of artificial intelligence (AI) without derailing their highly publicized environmental goals. Google announced Monday that it had inked a deal with Kairos Power to purchase nuclear energy from a fleet of small modular reactors, a kind of advanced nuclear reactor yet to be seen in the U.S. The tech giant was not shy about the driver behind the deal. "The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of energy and climate, wrote in a blog post. "Nuclear solutions offer a clean, round-the-clock power source that can help us reliably meet electricity demands with carbon-free energy every hour of every day," he added. Just two days later, Amazon announced it had signed a series of deals to invest in advanced nuclear reactors, including an agreement with Northwest Energy to build four small modular reactors in Washington. The e-commerce and cloud computing giant also reached an agreement with Dominion Energy in Virginia to explore the development of small modular reactors and anchored a $500 million financing round for X-energy, an advanced nuclear reactor and fuel company. The deals from Amazon and Google are unique in that they tap into next generation nuclear technology. However, they follow a flurry of other nuclear agreements struck by large tech firms over the past year. Nuclear energy operator Constellation Energy announced last month that it had reached a deal with Microsoft to reopen Three Mile Island to power the tech giant's data centers for two decades starting in 2028. The facility was the site of a partial nuclear meltdown in 1979, the worst accident in the history of U.S. commercial nuclear generation. It was retired five years ago due to declining revenues. Earlier this year, Amazon Web Services' (AWS) also purchased a data center campus for $650 million that will receive power directly from an adjacent nuclear plant. AI requires significant amounts of energy, with a single ChatGPT inquiry requiring nearly 10 times the energy of a typical Google search. Other forms of generative AI, like image generation, require even more energy. The increased energy demands of AI have resulted in greater emissions for Big Tech companies at a time when they are attempting to fulfill promises to become carbon-neutral or negative. Nuclear represents a particularly reliable form of carbon-free energy, said Katy Huff, who led the Energy Department Office of Nuclear Energy from 2022-24 and now serves as an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Nuclear energy has a capacity factor of 93.1 percent, meaning it runs at maximum power just over 93 percent of the time, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. It is nearly twice as reliable as coal and natural gas and three times as reliable as wind and solar -- though renewable fuel reliability can be improved with batteries. "That kind of reliability is required when your data center needs to be up every second of every minute of every day for 365 days a year and not be affected by things like clouds moving past the sun or complex wind patterns that cause a lull," Huff said. Matt Crozat, executive director of strategy and policy at the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade group that represents the industry, said that nuclear is a particularly good fit for tech companies because one plant can produce a lot of power at a time, which is needed to keep AI running. "It takes a lot of energy to run big data centers, and so being able to think in bigger chunks of carbon-free power, like a nuclear station, begins to make sense. If these were very small or niche applications, you might not have the same need," Crozat said. Advanced reactors, like the ones Google and Amazon are funding, could be key to balancing the country's commitment to reaching net-zero with rising energy demands, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Wednesday. "Small modular reactors are a huge piece of how we're going to solve this puzzle of getting to 100 percent clean electricity by 2035, while responding to all of the demand that will be created," she said at an event hosted by Amazon. The DOE estimates that the U.S. will need 700 to 900 gigawatts of additional clean energy to reach net-zero and that the country's nuclear capacity has the potential to grow 200 gigawatts by 2050. "I think Big Tech has an interesting role to kick off the order books of deployments that are needed to see that growth happen, to scale up the buildout," Huff added. Despite its apparent benefits, nuclear energy has had a rocky history. Between the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979 and the disaster at Chernobyl in 1986, nuclear power largely fell out of favor in the 1990s. It began a resurgence in the early 2000s, but the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan following a massive earthquake and tsunami again scrambled momentum. Several countries opted to phase out nuclear power in the following years, while others declined to build new nuclear power plants. However, amid growing concerns about climate change and expanding energy demands, nuclear may be having another moment. "Nuclear energy is really emerging back on the scene in a big way and in part because we're now talking about a world where we're going to see load growth, and we haven't seen that in over a decade, about two decades actually," said Valerie Karplus, associate director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University. Electricity demand is expected to grow 15 to 20 percent over the next decade, according to the DOE. This load growth is being driven by data center development, increasing electrification and efforts to reshore manufacturing. It's not just the tech sector that is investing in nuclear energy. Last year, chemical giant Dow announced an agreement with X-energy to build a reactor to power one of its facilities. Overall, industry players expressed optimism about the fuel's prospects going forward. "I definitely think that this is the beginning of a trend," said Ken Petersen, former president of the American Nuclear Society. "It's being driven by the tech companies and the large demand that they are putting onto the grid... that's the primary driver, and that's going to enable a lot of other opportunities to come along," he said. The Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats' sweeping climate, tax and healthcare bill also helped, with both tax credits that are specific to nuclear power production and tax credits that generally apply to low-carbon energy sources. Though Republicans have targeted the law's incentives for climate-friendly energy sources, some in the GOP want to preserve incentives for nuclear. In addition, a bipartisan bill that passed this summer is also expected to bolster the industry by speeding up nuclear reactor licensing timelines and cutting fees. In the wake of Google's announcement earlier this week, the White House touted its policies for "spurring billions in private sector investment" into nuclear. "President Biden and Vice President Harris made a big bet on America's energy potential, and this Administration's investments to jumpstart our nuclear future are paying off in a big way," White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said in a statement. "All across the country, we are seeing a muscular resurgence in American energy innovation - from bringing back previously shuttered nuclear plants to bringing online new technologies and new reactors," Zaidi added.

Silicon Valley is pouring billions into nuclear energy because without it, the U.S. risks 'browning the grid'

Amazon on Wednesday said that it was investing in small nuclear reactors, coming just two days after a similar announcement by Google, as both tech giants seek new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. The plans come as the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said last month it plans to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft can buy the power to supply its data centers. All three companies have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Now they say they need to go further in the search for clean electricity to meet both demand and their own commitments to cut emissions. Nuclear energy is a climate solution in that its reactors don't emit the planet-warming greenhouse gases that come from power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas. The demand for power is surging globally as buildings and vehicles electrify. People used more electricity than ever last year, placing strain on electric grids around the world. Much of the demand also comes from data centers and artificial intelligence. The International Energy Agency forecasts that data centers' total electricity consumption could reach more than 1,000 terawatt hours in 2026, more than doubling from 2022. Estimates suggest one terawatt hour can power 70,000 homes for a year. "AI is driving a significant increase in the amount of data centers and power that are required on the grid," Kevin Miller, Amazon Web Services' vice president of global data centers, told The Associated Press, adding: "We view advanced new nuclear capacity as really key and essential." The United States is pursuing small modular reactors, a type of nuclear reactor that can generate up to roughly one-third the amount of power of a traditional reactor. Developers say small reactors will be built faster and at a lower cost than large power reactors, scaling to fit needs of a particular location. They aim to start spinning up electricity in the early 2030s, if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives permission to build and operate their designs and the technology succeeds. If new, clean power isn't added as data centers are developed, the U.S. runs the risk of "browning the grid," or including more power that isn't made from clean sources, said Kathryn Huff, a former U.S. assistant secretary for nuclear energy who is now an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The reactors are currently under development, with none currently providing power to the electric grid in the U.S. Big investors can help change that, and these announcements could be the "inflection point" that makes scaling up this technology truly possible, Huff said. Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, echoed that, saying the industry needs customers who value the reliability and carbon-free attributes of nuclear and are willing to pay a premium for it at first, until a number of the next-generation reactors are deployed and the cost comes down. On Monday, Google said it was signing a contract to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors that Kairos Power, a nuclear technology company, plans to develop. The news highlights "the technologies that we're going to need to achieve round the clock clean energy, not only for Google but for the world," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of energy and climate, told the AP. With Kairos, Google said it expects to bring the first small modular reactor online by 2030, with more to come through 2035. The deal is projected to bring 500 megawatts of power to the grid. For context, Google consumed more than 24 terawatt hours of electricity last year, according to the company's annual environmental report. One terawatt is equal to 1,000,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, Amazon's announcements Wednesday included working with utility Dominion Energy to explore putting a small modular reactor near its existing North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia. It's investing in reactor developer X-energy for its early development work, and collaborating with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington to put four of the X-energy reactors there. Combined, the three announcements could account for more than 5,000 megawatts of power by the late 2030s with the possibility of more. All of that is still likely only a small fraction of the company's total energy consumption, a figure that Amazon does not report publicly. New reactor designs pair well with industrial applications because they can be built on a small footprint and generate reliable power, with some able to provide high-temperature heat too, at the site, said Doug True, chief nuclear officer at the industry trade association, Nuclear Energy Institute. "It seems like a really good fit to support those facilities, and for a lot of different applications depending upon the amount of power that's needed by the customer," he said. Both Amazon and Google have committed to using renewable energy to address climate change. By 2030, Google has pledged to meet net-zero emissions, and run carbon-free energy every hour of every day on every grid where it operates. It says it has already matched 100% of its global electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases on an annual basis. However, the company has fallen short on decreasing its emissions. Amazon has said it would match all of its global electricity consumption with 100% renewable energy by 2030, and recently announced it met that goal early in 2023. Though the company has matched its consumption as far as purchases of an equivalent amount of renewable energy, that does not necessarily mean it is using that to power its operations. Amazon saw its electricity emissions drop 11%, but direct emissions -- known as Scope 1 -- increased 7%, according to its 2023 sustainability report. The company is also targeting net zero-carbon by 2040.

Amazon bets on nuclear power to fuel AI ambitions

s companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google rapidly expand their global data center capabilities, they are actively seeking new electricity sources. Amazon has signed three agreements to support the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are more compact and potentially easier to deploy than traditional reactors.Amazon announced significant investments in nuclear energy on Wednesday, joining other tech giants in aiming to meet the high electric power demands of artificial intelligence using atomic energy. As companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google rapidly expand their global data center capabilities, they are actively seeking new electricity sources. Amazon has signed three agreements to support the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are more compact and potentially easier to deploy than traditional reactors. The technology is still in its infancy and lacks regulatory approval, however, raising doubts about implementation timelines. "One of the fastest ways to address climate change is by transitioning our society to carbon-free energy sources, and nuclear energy is both carbon-free and able to scale -- which is why it's an important area of investment for Amazon," said Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services. According to an Amazon spokeswoman, the contracts signed are worth over half a billion dollars. Amazon's new partnerships include collaborating with Energy Northwest to develop four advanced SMRs in Washington state, potentially generating up to 960 megawatts of power by the early 2030s. The company is also taking part in a $500 million funding round in X-energy, a leading SMR developer, to support more than five gigawatts of new nuclear-energy projects. Additionally, Amazon is teaming up with Dominion Energy to explore an SMR project near Virginia's North Anna nuclear power station, aiming to add at least 300 MW of power to meet projected demand increases. Northern Virginia, a global internet crossroads, is experiencing unprecedented growth in electricity demand due to data center expansion. Dominion Energy has indicated that new natural gas plants may be needed despite commitments to decarbonize the state's power grid by 2045. But the need for fossil-fuel-fired generation to power data center growth is at odds with the environmental ambitions of major tech companies, which are championing their ability to deliver AI's power without tarnishing their green credentials. Google recently signed a deal with Kairos Power for SMR-generated electricity, while Microsoft plans to use power from the restarted Three Mile Island facility. Amazon has also announced plans to locate a major data center next to a 40-year-old nuclear facility in Pennsylvania. According to Goldman Sachs, data center power demand is estimated to grow 160 percent by 2030, with AI representing about 19 percent of data center power demand by 2028.

Why AI is going nuclear

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More If you're of a certain age, the words "nuclear energy" probably conjure up dystopian images of power plants melting down, glowing radioactive waste, protesters, and other dark scenes ranging from the unfortunate to apocalyptic. The truth is, nuclear power's reputation has been mostly unfairly blemished since 1970s and '80s thanks to the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl meltdowns in Pennsylvania and Ukraine (at that time, part of the Soviet Union), respectively. While terrible, these disasters belie nuclear energy's true safety record, which is actually much better for humans and of course, the environment, than most other power sources -- even renewables, and even accounting for the fact that nuclear waste needs to go somewhere. Now in the year 2024, some of the largest technology companies on Earth are ready to embrace nuclear power again -- and the reason is because of artificial intelligence (AI). Which companies are embracing nuclear to power AI operations? Looking over the last 9-10 months, and in particular, the last few weeks, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have all announced large-scale commitments to buy, invest in, and/or help build new nuclear power plants. It's no coincidence these rivals are also the three top providers of cloud computing and cloud storage solutions in the world, and have also been among the biggest to embrace and provide AI models and technology to customers, both other businesses and end-users. Specifically, the major AI-nuclear projects that have been announced this year include: SMRs, as mentioned in several of the deals above, are reactors with a maximum output of 300 MWe, producing 7.2 million kWh per day. They are smaller than traditional reactors, which exceed 1,000 MWe, and offer greater flexibility due to their modular design, allowing for production and assembly in factories rather than on the site of the actual power station itself. They're cooled by light water, liquid metal, or molten salt and incorporate passive safety systems, utilizing natural circulation for core cooling and reducing the need for operator intervention, which simplifies design and minimizes failure risks. What's driving the move to nuclear? Clearly, the major cloud-turned AI model providers see an enormous future for nuclear power behind their operations. But why and why now? To find out, I reached out to Edward Kee, CEO and founder of Nuclear Economics Consulting Group, a nuclear energy consulting firm, who also previously worked as a merchant power plant developer and a nuclear power plant engineer for U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. According to Kee -- who of course, is incentivized to see more nuclear power spin up -- the answer is that data centers used to train and serve up inferences of AI models to customers require a lot of energy, and right now, the only way to deliver it is largely through a fossil fuel-powered electrical grid, which will impede the tech companies from achieving their climate and emissions goals. "The value of clean, reliable electricity for these data centers is pretty high," he told me in a videoconference interview earlier this week. "Most companies have committed to zero-carbon power by 2030 or 2035, but using renewable energy accounting methods is a bit fallacious because solar doesn't work at night, and wind doesn't work when there's no wind." Indeed, AI is a particularly power intensive industry. As Anna-Sofia Lesiv wrote for the venture capital firm Contrary last summer: "Training foundational AI models can be quite energy-intensive. GPT-3, OpenAI's 175 billion parameter model, reportedly used 1,287 MWh to train, while DeepMind's 280 billion parameter model used 1,066 MWh. This is about 100 times the energy used by the average US household in a year." And as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a non-profit international research and standards body dedicated to nuclear energy, wrote in a report released just this week: "As electricity consumption by data centers, cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence companies is expected to double from 2022 to 2026, these companies are seeking the next generation of clean energy technologies that can help to meet their goals." Driven in part by this increasing demand from the tech sector, IAEA issued a high-end projection in the report that finds a 150% increase in global nuclear generation capacity to 950 gigawatts by 2050. However, the IAEA cautions this high-end projection will require a $100 billion investment over the same 25-year timeframe -- "a fraction of what the world invests in energy infrastructure overall, but a big change from the level of investment in nuclear over the past 20 years." Tech companies are trying to thread a commercial and political needle to get the power they need While one might think that tech companies of all entities would have no trouble obtaining power from the existing electrical grid (powered mainly by natural gas and coal in the U.S.), the reality according to Kee is that municipal and private power utilities companies are wary of committing a significant portion of their output to new data centers, which could strain their ability to serve their current crop of residential and commercial customers beyond tech. The tech companies are "talking about adding frankly enormous amounts of new demand in terms of gigawatts on the grid," the nuclear expert told VentureBeat. "And increasingly, the states and the utilities where they're going to put those data centers are saying, 'Hold on a minute, guys. You can't just show up here and connect and take hundreds of megawatts or gigawatts of power without us having a plan to supply the generation to meet that demand. It's going to cause problems.'" Therefore, in order to even get approval for new data center projects and large AI training "superclusters" of graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia and others -- like the kind Elon Musk's xAI just turned on in Memphis, Tennessee -- municipal and state lawmakers and regulatory agencies may be asking the tech companies to come up with a plan for how they will be powered without draining too much from the existing grid. "Talking a lot about your nuclear plants could help you with that in terms of public perception," Kee said. Why having nuclear power located physically and geographically beside data centers is so appealing You might think that tech companies looking to nuclear to solve their AI energetic problems would be happy getting power from any nuclear plant, even ones far away from where their data centers would be situated. But even though we consumers often think of the "cloud" on which many AI servers run as some sort of ethereal, nonphysical space of electrons floating above us or around us and that we dip into and out of with our devices as needed, the fact is it is still enabled by physical metal and silicon computer chips and hardware, and as such, its performance is subject to the same physics as the rest of the world. Therefore, putting data centers as close as possible to their power sources -- in this case, nuclear power plants -- is advantageous to the companies. "We think of this AC power network we have as being pretty much fungible so you can get power at one point and customers another point," Kee explained. "But when you have huge hundred megawatt gigawatt scale loads, uou're going to have to upgrade and change your transmission system which means a building new transmission lines." Instead of doing that, the big tech companies would be better off situating servers right beside the power generation facility itself, avoiding the cost of building more infrastructure to carry the vast energy loads they require. What does big tech's sudden interest in nuclear mean for the long run? Ever the techno optimist, I personally couldn't help but get a little wide eyed at the recent announcements of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft putting money towards new nuclear plants. I myself have gone on a journey of being wary about nuclear power to being more open to it in order to help reduce emissions for the sake of our climate and environment -- much like the Sierra Club, which recently also endorsed nuclear power to the surprise of many given its long advocacy against it. A future where powerful AI models help increase the demand for, and maybe even optimize the safety and performance of new nuclear power plants sounds awesome and compelling to me. If AI is what it takes the world to look again at nuclear and embrace it as one of the major sources of clean energy, so be it. Could AI usher in a nuclear energy renaissance? Kee, for his part, is less certain about that optimistic worldview, noting that whether building new small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) or restarting old full scale power plants like Three Mile Island, the U.S. federal government through the agency the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will still need to review and approval all the projects, which is likely to take several years at the earliest. "Some of these announcements may be a bit hyperbolic in there on their promises and expectations," he told VentureBeat. "So you want to keep your seatbelt on for a while." Still, having been working in the nuclear sector for decades now, Kee is encouraged by big tech's lofty promises and does believe it could spur new nuclear energy investment more generally. "There's been excitement around small and advanced reactors for a decade or more, and now it's linking up with the big technology power demand world...That's kind of cool," he told VentureBeat. "I don't know which other sectors might follow, but you're right -- it could happen. If some of these new reactor designs get built, which was always in doubt because the economics are questionable for the first one, it might become easier to build a whole fleet by other parties, including utilities or municipalities."

Amazon bets on nuclear power to fuel AI ambitions

Amazon announced significant investments in nuclear energy on Wednesday, joining other tech giants in aiming to meet the high electric power demands of cloud computing and artificial intelligence using atomic energy. As companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google rapidly expand their global data center capabilities, they are actively seeking new electricity sources. Amazon has signed three agreements to support the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are more compact and potentially easier to deploy than traditional reactors. The technology is still in its infancy and lacks regulatory approval, however, raising doubts about implementation timelines. "One of the fastest ways to address climate change is by transitioning our society to carbon-free energy sources, and nuclear energy is both carbon-free and able to scale -- which is why it's an important area of investment for Amazon," said Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services. Amazon's new partnerships include collaborating with Energy Northwest to develop four advanced SMRs in Washington state, potentially generating up to 960 megawatts of power by the early 2030s. The company is also investing $500 million in X-energy, a leading SMR developer, to support more than five gigawatts of new nuclear-energy projects. Additionally, Amazon is teaming up with Dominion Energy to explore an SMR project near Virginia's North Anna nuclear power station, aiming to add at least 300 MW of power to meet projected demand increases. Northern Virginia, a global internet crossroads, is experiencing unprecedented growth in electricity demand due to data center expansion. Dominion Energy has indicated that new natural gas plants may be needed despite commitments to decarbonize the state's power grid by 2045. But the need for fossil-fuel-fired generation to power data center growth is at odds with the environmental ambitions of major tech companies, which are championing their ability to deliver AI's power without tarnishing their green credentials. Google recently signed a deal with Kairos Power for SMR-generated electricity, while Microsoft plans to use power from the restarted Three Mile Island facility. Amazon has also announced plans to locate a major data center next to a 40-year-old nuclear facility in Pennsylvania. According to Goldman Sachs, data center power demand is estimated to grow 160 percent by 2030, with AI representing about 19 percent of data center power demand by 2028.

Amazon, Google make dueling nuclear investments to power data centers with clean energy

Amazon on Wednesday said that it was investing in small nuclear reactors, coming just two days after a similar announcement by Google, as both tech giants seek new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. The plans come as the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said last month it plans to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft can buy the power to supply its data centers. All three companies have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Now they say they need to go further in the search for clean electricity to meet both demand and their own commitments to cut emissions. Nuclear energy is a climate solution in that its reactors don't emit the planet-warming greenhouse gases that come from power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas. The demand for power is surging globally as buildings and vehicles electrify. People used more electricity than ever last year, placing strain on electric grids around the world. Much of the demand also comes from data centers and artificial intelligence. The International Energy Agency forecasts that data centers' total electricity consumption could reach more than 1,000 terawatt hours in 2026, more than doubling from 2022. Estimates suggest one terawatt hour can power 70,000 homes for a year. "AI is driving a significant increase in the amount of data centers and power that are required on the grid," Kevin Miller, Amazon Web Services' vice president of global data centers, told The Associated Press, adding: "We view advanced new nuclear capacity as really key and essential." The United States is pursuing small modular reactors, a type of nuclear reactor that can generate up to roughly one-third the amount of power of a traditional reactor. Developers say small reactors will be built faster and at a lower cost than large power reactors, scaling to fit needs of a particular location. They aim to start spinning up electricity in the early 2030s, if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives permission to build and operate their designs and the technology succeeds. If new, clean power isn't added as data centers are developed, the U.S. runs the risk of "browning the grid," or including more power that isn't made from clean sources, said Kathryn Huff, a former U.S. assistant secretary for nuclear energy who is now an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The reactors are currently under development, with none currently providing power to the electric grid in the U.S. Big investors can help change that, and these announcements could be the "inflection point" that makes scaling up this technology truly possible, Huff said. Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, echoed that, saying the industry needs customers who value the reliability and carbon-free attributes of nuclear and are willing to pay a premium for it at first, until a number of the next-generation reactors are deployed and the cost comes down. On Monday, Google said it was signing a contract to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors that Kairos Power, a nuclear technology company, plans to develop. The news highlights "the technologies that we're going to need to achieve round the clock clean energy, not only for Google but for the world," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of energy and climate, told the AP. With Kairos, Google said it expects to bring the first small modular reactor online by 2030, with more to come through 2035. The deal is projected to bring 500 megawatts of power to the grid. For context, Google consumed more than 24 terawatt hours of electricity last year, according to the company's annual environmental report. One terawatt is equal to 1,000,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, Amazon's announcements Wednesday included working with utility Dominion Energy to explore putting a small modular reactor near its existing North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia. It's investing in reactor developer X-energy for its early development work, and collaborating with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington to put four of the X-energy reactors there. Combined, the three announcements could account for more than 5,000 megawatts of power by the late 2030s with the possibility of more. All of that is still likely only a small fraction of the company's total energy consumption, a figure that Amazon does not report publicly. New reactor designs pair well with industrial applications because they can be built on a small footprint and generate reliable power, with some able to provide high-temperature heat too, at the site, said Doug True, chief nuclear officer at the industry trade association, Nuclear Energy Institute. "It seems like a really good fit to support those facilities, and for a lot of different applications depending upon the amount of power that's needed by the customer," he said. Both Amazon and Google have committed to using renewable energy to address climate change. By 2030, Google has pledged to meet net-zero emissions, and run carbon-free energy every hour of every day on every grid where it operates. It says it has already matched 100% of its global electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases on an annual basis. However, the company has fallen short on decreasing its emissions. Amazon has said it would match all of its global electricity consumption with 100% renewable energy by 2030, and recently announced it met that goal early in 2023. Though the company has matched its consumption as far as purchases of an equivalent amount of renewable energy, that does not necessarily mean it is using that to power its operations. Amazon saw its electricity emissions drop 11%, but direct emissions -- known as Scope 1 -- increased 7%, according to its 2023 sustainability report. The company is also targeting net zero-carbon by 2040.

Google wants to address data center power demands with nuclear power

Google has signed a new deal with Kairos Power to use small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) to power its energy-hungry artificial intelligence (AI) data centers as the world begins to confront the consequences of widespread AI adoption and a grid that's struggling to keep up. The partnership will be the first corporate agreement involving the purchase of nuclear energy from multiple SMRs, and is set to begin operation by the end of the decade. With the first reactor online by 2030, Google plans to enlist additional reactors over the following five years. In the nearly two years that have followed the public preview launch of ChatGPT, which is credited with kickstarting widespread interest in artificial intelligence, tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Amazon have been forced to rethink their strategies as data centers' power consumption and use of other natural resources have come under fire. Google's Senior Director for Energy and Climate, Michael Terrell, emphasized the importance of the agreement, noting that the grid needs new energy sources to support AI's continued expansion. He described the partnership with Kairos as an opportunity to accelerate clean, reliable nuclear power and to unlock AI's full potential. Kairos Power CEO Mike Laufer commented: "By coming alongside in the development phase, Google is more than just a customer. They are a partner who deeply understands our innovative approach and the potential it can deliver." Alphabet isn't the only big corp looking at nuclear energy to power its data centers - Microsoft and Amazon have also been publicly exploring the potential of nuclear, with the US Department of Energy also deeming it a viable solution. Besides nuclear, Google has also been diversifying its energy investments to offshore wind, solar and geothermic activity. It's not just Google who are looking to address the significant power usage of data centers, as energy companies have also been advised that they need to plan ahead for the AI data center power drain, or lose out on revenue. In a recent interview, Jay Jiang Yu, Founder and Executive Chairman of Nano Nuclear Energy Inc, told TechRadar Pro that "The systems which would need to be in place to meet the expected energy demand would need to commence their installation now, to ensure that the AI and data centers in 2-3 years had the power supply necessary to continue their upscaling and expansion." "Currently the deficit in energy is expected to hit the tech centers sometime around 2026-2027, and currently no new system looks able to come online before those dates," he concluded.

Amazon bets on nuclear power to fuel AI ambitions

New York (AFP) - Amazon announced significant investments in nuclear energy on Wednesday, joining other tech giants in aiming to meet the high electric power demands of cloud computing and artificial intelligence using atomic energy. As companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google rapidly expand their global data center capabilities, they are actively seeking new electricity sources. Amazon has signed three agreements to support the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are more compact and potentially easier to deploy than traditional reactors. The technology is still in its infancy and lacks regulatory approval, however, raising doubts about implementation timelines. "One of the fastest ways to address climate change is by transitioning our society to carbon-free energy sources, and nuclear energy is both carbon-free and able to scale -- which is why it's an important area of investment for Amazon," said Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services. Amazon's new partnerships include collaborating with Energy Northwest to develop four advanced SMRs in Washington state, potentially generating up to 960 megawatts of power by the early 2030s. The company is also investing $500 million in X-energy, a leading SMR developer, to support more than five gigawatts of new nuclear-energy projects. Additionally, Amazon is teaming up with Dominion Energy to explore an SMR project near Virginia's North Anna nuclear power station, aiming to add at least 300 MW of power to meet projected demand increases. Northern Virginia, a global internet crossroads, is experiencing unprecedented growth in electricity demand due to data center expansion. Dominion Energy has indicated that new natural gas plants may be needed despite commitments to decarbonize the state's power grid by 2045. But the need for fossil-fuel-fired generation to power data center growth is at odds with the environmental ambitions of major tech companies, which are championing their ability to deliver AI's power without tarnishing their green credentials. Google recently signed a deal with Kairos Power for SMR-generated electricity, while Microsoft plans to use power from the restarted Three Mile Island facility. Amazon has also announced plans to locate a major data center next to a 40-year-old nuclear facility in Pennsylvania. According to Goldman Sachs, data center power demand is estimated to grow 160 percent by 2030, with AI representing about 19 percent of data center power demand by 2028.

Google's AI dream will be powered by miniature nuclear reactors in 'world first' deal, though the timeline seems optimistic at best

Okay Google, why does the phrase 'nuclear power startup' give me The Fear? Following news last month about plans to restart one of the Three Mile Island reactors in order to power Microsoft's AI data centres, Google has revealed its own designs for harnessing nuclear energy. In a recent blog post, the tech giant explained they'd signed a "world first" deal with nuclear power startup Kairos Power to build a fleet of SMRs (small modular reactors). It's all in aid of supplying power to Google's own data centres due to the extremely high power consumption of AI. The first reactor is planned to go online in 2030, with further deployments planned up until 2035, likely totalling around six or seven reactors in all. While neither party has yet detailed where these new SMRs will be built, the deal promises to ultimately add "up to 500 [megawatts] of new 24/7 carbon-free power to U.S. electricity grids." Naturally, none of that's going to be a straightforward process. SMRs are intended to be a more cost-effective, speedier construct option compared to traditional nuclear power plants. However, as TechCrunch points out, the economics of this largely remain unproven as no commercial SMR has yet been commissioned -- in the US, at least. In Hainan, China, construction of the Linglong One SMR is currently in progress and slated to be completed by 2026 (via South China Morning Post). It's not just the US or China looking towards a future with SMRs; the Czech government has selected Rolls-Royce SMR to build a fleet for them, and the UK is also considering a similar deal with the same company. According to The Guardian, Kairos themselves are currently building a demonstration reactor in Tennessee, though that won't be finished until 2027 (making the Google deal timeline of getting potentially seven SMRs up and at them by 2035 seem just a wee bit optimistic). Furthermore, Kairos Power wants to pave the way forward with reactors cooled by a molten salt form of beryllium fluoride and lithium fluoride, rather than the water-based industry standard. Considering the as-yet-unproven SMRs, plus their emphasis on speedy construction, it's enough to give anyone even slightly nuclear-cautious sweaty palms. It's worth noting too, as TechCrunch highlights, that the US public's opinion on nuclear power remains somewhat split. While 56% of those surveyed by Pew Research are broadly in favour of more nuclear power plants being built, Americans are still more likely to support the expansion of wind (72%) and solar (78%) over nuclear power. It's not hard to see why; besides the fact these two sources of renewable energy tend to be much less costly to harness compared to building a new nuclear power station, there's also a much shorter list of safety concerns. The main issue for Google is that, to meet the round-the-clock power demands of a data centre, you'd need to build a huge battery to ensure you had enough wind or solar-flavoured juice on hand. That is to say, there's definitely still room to innovate in the renewable energy space, so perhaps instead of trying to reinvent the nuclear wheel with Kairos, Google should be trying to grease solar and wind's.

Amazon jumps on nuclear plant investment bandwagon -- taps energy companies to power AI data centers

Amazon is the latest tech company to join the nuclear bandwagon, investing in three energy companies to help bring more power output online across two states. The e-commerce giant signed agreements with Energy Northwest, a consortium of public utility companies in Washington State, X-energy, a small modular reactor (SMR) developer, and Dominion Energy, an electric utility provider based in Virginia that operates the North Anna nuclear power station. Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman said, "Nuclear is a safe source of carbon-free energy that can help power our operations and meet the growing demands of our customers, while helping us progress toward our Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero across our operations by 2040." This isn't the company's first venture into nuclear power, as it has previously bought a 960-MW data center in Pennsylvania directly connected to the nearby nuclear plant. However, these investments represent Amazon's first direct investments in nuclear power production, joining the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Oracle in spending millions (if not billions) of dollars on research, development, and deployment of these carbon-free energy sources. According to the blog post, Amazon will mainly focus on developing SMRs that are easier to build and take less time to deploy than traditional nuclear power plants. The agreement with Energy Northwest will allow the utility company to build four advanced SMRs with an initial target output of 320 MWs, to scale it up to 960 MWs. On the other hand, the Dominion deal is said to "explore the development of an SMR project near Dominion's existing North Anna nuclear power station." If successful, this should add 300 MWs more power capacity to Virginia and its neighboring states. The tech giant is also involved in SMR manufacturing with its agreement with X-energy. Aside from being selected for the Energy Northwest project, it also expects several more nuclear projects involving X-energy's SMR technology to allow for a 5-GW increase in power production throughout the country. However, X-energy is not the only one working on tiny nuclear reactors. Even Westinghouse, one of the pioneers of nuclear energy from the 1930s, is working on a micro nuclear reactor designed to be transportable on the back of a truck and easily replaced, like a battery. These developments will help AI companies move forward, especially as power is now the primary limitation that prevents them from making even more powerful data centers. Nuclear energy has enormous potential in solving this issue, especially as it can produce much power in a relatively small footprint without emitting greenhouse gasses. However, there are still many hurdles that tech and energy companies need to go through, especially in safety and security regarding nuclear material. But once these are addressed, we can expect our data-centered future to be powered by the atom's splitting (or maybe even fusing).

AI Power Needs Fuel Demand for Nuclear Energy

Nuclear power is garnering renewed attention amid growing demand for power and cleaner energy. The power source has seen a resurgence as nations focus on reducing emissions in an effort to combat climate change. At the same time, the technology sector's energy needs are growing in the form of data centers and powerful advances in artificial intelligence. Those factors have prompted companies and governments to look more closely at a power source whose potential hazards made it unpopular only a few decades ago. The U.S. is the fastest growing market for data centers, according to McKinsey, which forecasts demand to more than triple by 2030 to 80 gigawatts. Constellation Energy plans on reopening Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania under a deal with Microsoft. Oracle plans to use new technology in the form of small modular nuclear reactors to power its data centers, while Google is purchasing nuclear energy from small modular reactors in development by Kairos Power. Amazon on Wednesday said that it was investing in small nuclear reactors, coming just two days after a similar announcement by Google, as both tech giants seek new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence.

Yet Another Tech Giant Throws Its Weight Behind Nuclear As AI's Monstrous Power Demands Spike

Google just inked a major nuclear energy deal focused on powering AI efforts without destroying the planet in the process. On Monday, Google announced a landmark agreement with nuclear startup Kairos Power to purchase energy produced by seven yet-to-be-built small modular nuclear reactors. The companies claim the deal aims to add upwards of 500 megawatts "of new 24/7 carbon-free power to US electricity grids" -- that is, over a decade from now when Kairos promises the reactors will be built. AI is an incredibly energy-intensive technology. And though its makers often trumpet AI's promise as a climate crisis-solving innovation, the AI industry's massive reliance on nonrenewable sources to power the energy-guzzling tech has caused companies including Google and Microsoft to miss important climate targets. Google and Kairos are touting the renewable energy deal as a win for overall tech sustainability and, most importantly, sustainable AI development. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably," wrote Michael Terrell, Google's senior director for energy and climate, in a company blog post, "and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone." In the announcement, Google and Kairos claim that the first of the modular nuclear power terminals will be up and running by 2030, with all modules completed by 2035. As Bloomberg reported in May, Google stopped mass-buying carbon offset tokens this year amid its emissions-intensive AI efforts, and as a result, no longer claims to be carbon neutral. The tech giant is still promising to be net-zero carbon by 2030, though as it stands, AI is making that mission increasingly unlikely. In his blog post, Terrell noted that the goal of the deal is to "complement" Google's use "of variable renewables, like solar and wind, and help us reach our ambitious 24/7 carbon-free energy and net-zero goals." Google isn't the first AI company to look to renewable nuclear energy as a means of offsetting AI's serious fossil fuel problem. In another high-profile plan to put nuclear back on the energy menu, Microsoft announced a deal last month to revitalize the decades-old plant at Pennsylvania's notorious Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear power accident in US history. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also deeply invested in conventional nuclear power as well as still-unrealized fusion power. Nuclear power has long had a public relations problem in the US. But now, as powerful tech giants scramble to power AI without taking a wrecking ball to the Earth's climate, nuclear is making a serious comeback -- though whether Google and its peers will be able to power their AI models and still meet essential climate targets remains precariously unclear.

Google adopts small nuclear power reactors at unprecedented scale -- inks deal for seven reactors to feed AI data centers

Google just signed a deal with nuclear power startup Kairos Power to buy carbon-free electricity, with a 2030 initial delivery target and full deployment by 2035. According to Google's blog 'The Keyword', the tech giant aims to deliver 500MW of "new 24.7 carbon-free power" to the U.S. power grid. This move will likely support Google's push for AI supremacy, especially as data center deployments are already being limited by power availability. The White House has taken notice of this power deficit and has undertaken talks with tech companies about the scale of their power demands. It seems that these talks have borne fruit, especially as Google isn't the first one to push for small modular reactors as a data center power source. In early September, Oracle broke the news that it would build three small modular reactors (SMRs) that would deliver at least one gigawatt of power to its AI data centers. Microsoft is also investing $1.6 billion to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor, which the company says will generate more than 800MW. It's unclear how Google and Kairos set up the deal -- whether the former is providing direct funding or if it just promised to buy the power that the latter generates when its reactors are up and running. Nevertheless, Kairos has already passed several milestones, making it one of the more promising startups in the field of nuclear energy. For example, it has already received the green light from the U.S. Nuclear Registry Commission (the first one to do so) to build its Hermes non-powered demonstrator reactor in Tennessee. Although it still doesn't have nuclear fuel on-site, this is a major step in its design process, allowing the company to see its system in real life and learn more about its deployment and operation. However, Kairos isn't the only one working on SMR technology, especially as there is massive demand for easily deployable power sources for data centers. Nuclear power pioneer Westinghouse is also working on a micro nuclear reactor that's easily transportable and deployable, allowing it to deliver an uninterrupted 5MW for eight years. The AI boom isn't just driving demand for chips and data centers, it's also requiring innovations in other industries, like power production and energy transmission. Nevertheless, there are some experts who doubt the viability of the AI business, with some even saying that Nvidia's AI valuation is a 'bubble' and 'overhyped' and that over 80% of AI projects will fail. But as long as investments are pouring in, tech companies will push the envelope on AI tech, hoping that they can remain on the cutting edge if and when AI will go mainstream.

Google Joins Big Tech's Pivot To Nuclear Energy To Power AI

Last month, Microsoft announced that Constellation Energy would be restarting Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear plant to provide electricity for the tech firm's data centers. Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google is backing the construction of seven small reactors by Kairos Power, the latest move by a tech giant to ramp up nuclear energy use to power its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions. The target, Google said, is to add 500 megawatts of nuclear power in total. The first nuclear reactor is slated to be online by 2030, followed by others through 2035. "This agreement is part of our efforts to develop and commercialize a broad portfolio of advanced clean electricity technologies to power our global data centers and offices," said Michael Terrell, senior director of energy and climate at Google, noting that the deal would provide "new 24/7 carbon-free power to U.S. electricity grids." The power-hungry nature of AI chips is prompting the large tech firms that are staking their fortunes on the technology to turn to nuclear energy, which has the advantage of being more stable than many other renewable energy sources. Last month, Microsoft (MSFT) announced that Constellation Energy (CEG) would be restarting Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear plant to provide electricity for the tech firm's data centers in a 20-year supply deal. In March, Amazon's (AMZN) Amazon Web Services bought a nuclear-powered data center in Pennsylvania for $650 million from Talen Energy (TLN). Google shares are edging higher in premarket trading.

Google bets big on 'mini' nuclear reactors to feed its AI demands

Google says the agreement could 'unlock the full potential of AI for everyone.' Google is officially putting its weight behind advanced "mini" nuclear reactors in an effort to produce new clean to meet growing AI energy demands. On Tuesday, the company announced an agreement with California-based small nuclear reactor (SMR) startup Kairos Power to commission the development of six or seven reactors that could add 500 megawatts of clean energy to the US electrical grid within the next decade. Google's buy-in represents the biggest investment for the experimental new reactor type from a tech company and could play a key in making so-called next-generation nuclear commercially viable. The deal is part of a broader embrace of nuclear power by tech giants who are frantically searching for ways to fuel their increasing energy consumption while attempting to stick to their climate goals. In a blog post, Google said it expects the first of Kairos reactors to come online as early as 2030, with the other five six operational by 2035. Once running, these mini reactors will send power directly to local energy grids which Google will then tap into for use in its data centers. Google did not immediately respond to Popular Science's request for comment seeking details on the financials of the agreement or proposed locations for the reactors. The deal still requires approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission before it can move forward. Modern small nuclear reactors, or SMRs, are a departure from the cylinder behemoths most people think of when they imagine a nuclear power plant. These "mini" reactors are typically capable of producing just one-third of the power of their larger predecessors. What they may lack in power, however, they make up for in availability and accessibility. SMR's smaller, modular designs mean they can be produced relatively quickly and deployed in a wider variety of locations and environments than traditional nuclear reactors. In theory, SMRs can be designed en masse in one location and then shipped out to areas depending on their energy requirements. SMRs also reportedly require less frequent refueling. While conventional nuclear power plants need new fuel every year or two, SMRs can last between 3-7 years without needing to top off. Kairos' particular design uses molten salts of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride to cool its reactors rather than water. Supporters of SMRs say they are also inherently safer than conventional nuclear. The simpler, smaller-scale design means SMRs feature reactor cores with lower reactor power. That lower power means overseers could have more time to respond to incidents or accidents. SMRs generally cut down on the overall amount of valves, pipes, cables, and other components, which in turn cuts down on potential areas of failure. All of this means SMR may be less likely to cause dramatic, dangerous large-scale meltdowns and system failures like those seen at plants in Chernobyl and Fukushima. On a practical level, SMRs also less upfront capital investment to get individual reactors up and running though critics have warned they may have difficulty scaling up over the long term. Kairos Vice President Jeff Olson said the deal with Google importantly demonstrates there's a clear market for technology, which could play an important role in efforts to "accelerate the commercialization of advanced nuclear energy." "This early commitment from Google provides a strong customer demand signal, which reinforces Kairos Power's continued investment in our iterative development approach and commercial production scale-up," Olsen added. Google made it clear its decision to invest in advanced nuclear energy is directly tied to increased energy demands brought about by AI. Some reports suggest that data centers housing AI models like Google's Gemini may account for over 9% of the country's overall energy demand by 2030. A Goldman Sachs forecast from earlier this year estimates up to 60% of that additional energy demand may be met with fossil fuel sources. Google, which has pledged to reach net zero carbon by 2030, is hoping these mini nuclear reactors can help fill that gap, and quickly. "The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth," Google Senior Director for Energy and Climate Michael Terrell, said in a statement. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone," Terrell added. The agreement comes just weeks after Microsoft announced its own 20-year deal to bring back online the Three Mile Island nuclear facility in Pennsylvania. Though both Google and Microsoft are signaling support for nuclear broadly, they've each decided to place their reputational weight, and hefty pocketbooks, behind at times opposing approaches. While Microsoft has opted to reinvigorate conventional nuclear, Google is hoping it can jump-start a far less tested but potentially more available new alternative. But Google isn't putting all of its eggs in a nuclear basket. In his statement, Terell said the company is investing in a "broad portfolio of advanced clean electricity technologies to power our global data centers and offices." So far, that portfolio includes billions of dollars worth of investment in solar and wind farms. Google is also taking a chance on newer, more experimental energy sources like advanced geothermal.

Amazon to invest in 3 nuclear plants as it scrambles to power AI...

Amazon is the latest tech giant to embrace nuclear energy as it scrambles to supply electricity-hogging artificial intelligence programs. Amazon Web Services, the Seattle-based e-retailer's cloud computing unit, said Wednesday it will invest more than half a billion dollars in three projects -- one in Washington state, one in Virginia and another in Pennsylvania. The Virginia and Washington state deals obligate AWS to put up the money for power utilities to study the feasibility of adding small modular reactors to existing energy stations. In exchange, Amazon will have the right to purchase power from an initial installation of four small modular reactors. Energy Northwest, a consortium of state public utilities, will have the option to add up to eight 80 MW modules, resulting in a total capacity up to 960 MWs, or enough to power the equivalent of more than 770,000 US homes. The additional power would be available to Amazon and utilities to power homes and businesses. AWS reacheding agreement with Virginia's utility company to build a small modular nuclear reactor near an existing power station in Louisa County. A small modular reactor (SMR) is smaller in size and capacity compared to traditional nuclear reactors. "Modular" means they can be produced in factories and transported to sites for assembly, allowing for more flexible deployment and potentially reduced construction time and costs. "Our agreements will encourage the construction of new nuclear technologies that will generate energy for decades to come," said Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services. SMRs will have their components built in a factory to reduce construction costs. Today's larger reactors are built onsite. Critics of SMRs say they will be too expensive to achieve the desired economies of scale. Nuclear power, which generates electricity virtually free of greenhouse gas emissions and provides high-paying union jobs, gets wide support from both Democrats and Republicans. But no US SMRs exist yet. NuScale, the only US company with an SMR design license from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, last year had to axe the first SMR project to build its technology at a US lab in Idaho. In addition, SMRs will produce long-lasting radioactive nuclear waste for which the US does not yet have a final repository. Scott Burnell, a spokesperson at the US NRC, said "no specifics" about the planned SMRs been presented yet to the regulator. Google said on Monday it signed the world's first corporate agreement to buy power from multiple small modular reactors to meet electricity demand for artificial intelligence. The technology company's agreement with Kairos Power aims to bring Kairos' first small modular reactor online by 2030, followed by additional deployments through 2035. The companies did not reveal financial details of the agreement or where in the US the plants would be built. Google said it has agreed to buy a total of 500 megawatts of power from six to seven reactors, which is smaller than the output of today's nuclear reactors. Last month, Microsoft and Constellation Energy signed a power deal to help resurrect a unit of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst US nuclear accident in 1979. US data center power use is expected to roughly triple between 2023 and 2030 and will require about 47 gigawatts of new generation capacity, according to Goldman Sachs estimates, which assumed natural gas, wind and solar power would fill the gap.

Google to buy nuclear power for AI datacentres in 'world first' deal

Tech company orders six or seven small nuclear reactors from California's Kairos Power Google has signed a "world first" deal to buy energy from a fleet of mini nuclear reactors to generate the power needed for the rise in use of artificial intelligence. The US tech corporation has ordered six or seven small nuclear reactors (SMRs) from California's Kairos Power, with the first due to be completed by 2030 and the remainder by 2035. Google hopes the deal will provide a low carbon solution to power datacentres, which require huge volumes of electricity. The US company, owned by Alphabet, said nuclear provided "a clean, round-the-clock power source that can help us reliably meet electricity demands". The explosive growth of generative AI, as well as cloud storage, has increased tech companies' electricity demands. Last month, Microsoft struck a deal to take energy from Three Mile Island, activating the plant for the first time in five years. The site, in Pennsylvania, was the location of the most serious nuclear meltdown in US history, in March 1979. Amazon bought a datacentre powered by nuclear energy in March from Talen Energy. The locations of the new plants and financial details of the agreement were not revealed. Google has agreed to buy a total of 500 megawatts of power from Kairos, which was founded in 2016 and is building a demonstration reactor in Tennessee, due to be completed in 2027. Michael Terrell, the senior director for energy and climate at Google, said: "The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone." Mike Laufer, the chief executive and co-founder of Kairos, said: "We're confident that this novel approach is going to improve the prospects of our projects being delivered on cost and on schedule." The deal, which is subject to regulatory permits, represents a vote of confidence in SMR technology. The smaller, factory-built power plants are designed to cut the cost overruns and delays often experienced in building bigger plants. However, critics argue that SMRs will be expensive because they may not be able to achieve the same economy of scale as larger plants. In the UK, companies are bidding to be selected by the government to develop their SMR technologies as ministers aim to revive its nuclear industry. One of the bidders, Rolls-Royce SMR, received a significant boost last month when it was selected by the Czech government to build a fleet of reactors.

Amazon, Google make dueling nuclear investments to power data centers with clean energy

Amazon on Wednesday said that it was investing in small nuclear reactors, coming just two days after a similar announcement by Google, as both tech giants seek new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. The plans come as the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said last month it plans to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft can buy the power to supply its data centers. All three companies have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Now they say they need to go further in the search for clean electricity to meet both demand and their own commitments to cut emissions. Nuclear energy is a climate solution in that its reactors don't emit the planet-warming greenhouse gases that come from power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas. The demand for power is surging globally as buildings and vehicles electrify. People used more electricity than ever last year, placing strain on electric grids around the world. Much of the demand also comes from data centers and artificial intelligence. The International Energy Agency forecasts that data centers' total electricity consumption could reach more than 1,000 terawatt hours in 2026, more than doubling from 2022. Estimates suggest one terawatt hour can power 70,000 homes for a year. "AI is driving a significant increase in the amount of data centers and power that are required on the grid," Kevin Miller, Amazon Web Services' vice president of global data centers, told The Associated Press, adding: "We view advanced new nuclear capacity as really key and essential." The United States is pursuing small modular reactors, a type of nuclear reactor that can generate up to roughly one-third the amount of power of a traditional reactor. Developers say small reactors will be built faster and at a lower cost than large power reactors, scaling to fit needs of a particular location. They aim to start spinning up electricity in the early 2030s, if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives permission to build and operate their designs and the technology succeeds. If new, clean power isn't added as data centers are developed, the U.S. runs the risk of "browning the grid," or including more power that isn't made from clean sources, said Kathryn Huff, a former U.S. assistant secretary for nuclear energy who is now an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The reactors are currently under development, with none currently providing power to the electric grid in the U.S. Big investors can help change that, and these announcements could be the "inflection point" that makes scaling up this technology truly possible, Huff said. Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, echoed that, saying the industry needs customers who value the reliability and carbon-free attributes of nuclear and are willing to pay a premium for it at first, until a number of the next-generation reactors are deployed and the cost comes down. On Monday, Google said it was signing a contract to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors that Kairos Power, a nuclear technology company, plans to develop. The news highlights "the technologies that we're going to need to achieve round the clock clean energy, not only for Google but for the world," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of energy and climate, told the AP. With Kairos, Google said it expects to bring the first small modular reactor online by 2030, with more to come through 2035. The deal is projected to bring 500 megawatts of power to the grid. For context, Google consumed more than 24 terawatt hours of electricity last year, according to the company's annual environmental report. One terawatt is equal to 1,000,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, Amazon's announcements Wednesday included working with utility Dominion Energy to explore putting a small modular reactor near its existing North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia. It's investing in reactor developer X-energy for its early development work, and collaborating with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington to put four of the X-energy reactors there. Combined, the three announcements could account for more than 5,000 megawatts of power by the late 2030s with the possibility of more. All of that is still likely only a small fraction of the company's total energy consumption, a figure that Amazon does not report publicly. New reactor designs pair well with industrial applications because they can be built on a small footprint and generate reliable power, with some able to provide high-temperature heat too, at the site, said Doug True, chief nuclear officer at the industry trade association, Nuclear Energy Institute. "It seems like a really good fit to support those facilities, and for a lot of different applications depending upon the amount of power that's needed by the customer," he said. Both Amazon and Google have committed to using renewable energy to address climate change. By 2030, Google has pledged to meet net-zero emissions, and run carbon-free energy every hour of every day on every grid where it operates. It says it has already matched 100% of its global electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases on an annual basis. However, the company has fallen short on decreasing its emissions. Amazon has said it would match all of its global electricity consumption with 100% renewable energy by 2030, and recently announced it met that goal early in 2023. Though the company has matched its consumption as far as purchases of an equivalent amount of renewable energy, that does not necessarily mean it is using that to power its operations. Amazon saw its electricity emissions drop 11%, but direct emissions -- known as Scope 1 -- increased 7%, according to its 2023 sustainability report. The company is also targeting net zero-carbon by 2040. Read more of AP's climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Google Follows Microsoft's Lead With Nuclear Power for AI

Google signed an agreement on Monday to buy nuclear energy from engineering company Kairos Power by 2030. Microsoft is planning to reopen a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, but it's not the only tech giant tapping into nuclear energy to meet AI's increasing power needs: Google is also getting into the game with a new partnership. On Monday, Google signed "the world's first corporate agreement" to buy nuclear energy from engineering company Kairos Power. Within the next six years, Kairos Power will get its first power-generating nuclear reactor up and running. By 2035, the company will provide Google with multiple sources of nuclear power. The agreement adds 500 megawatts (MWs) of power to the U.S. grid. Related: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says Nuclear Energy 'Is a Wonderful Way Forward' to Keep AI Data Centers Running Per Google's statement, the agreement was necessary to support AI advancements. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone," Google wrote. Google is already behind on its environmental goals because of investments in AI -- the technology was the main cause of emissions going up 48% since 2019. Nuclear energy is a carbon-free energy source, another reason Google noted for the partnership. Meanwhile, Microsoft has signed an agreement to buy nuclear energy from Three Mile Island, a plant that experienced the most serious accident in U.S. commercial operating history in 1979. The plant shut down in 2019 for economic reasons but will reopen with a $1.6 billion investment. Microsoft will buy energy from it for 20 years.

Google strikes a deal with a nuclear startup to power its AI data centers

Google is turning to nuclear energy to help power its AI drive. On Monday, the company said it will partner with the startup Kairos Power to build seven small nuclear reactors in the US. The deal targets adding 500 megawatts of nuclear power from the small modular reactors (SMRs) by the decade's end. The first is expected to be up and running by 2030, with the remainder arriving through 2035. It's the first-ever corporate deal to buy nuclear power from SMRs. Small modular reactors are smaller than existing reactors. Their components are built inside a factory rather than on-site, which can help lower construction costs compared to full-scale plants. Kairos will need the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve design and construction permits for the plans. The startup has already received approval for a demonstration reactor in Tennessee, with an online date targeted for 2027. The company already builds test units (without nuclear-fuel components) at a development facility in Albuquerque, NM, where it assesses components, systems and its supply chain. The companies didn't announce the financial details of the arrangement. Google says the deal's structure will help to keep costs down and get the energy online sooner. "By procuring electricity from multiple reactors -- what experts call an 'orderbook' of reactors -- we will help accelerate the repeated reactor deployments that are needed to lower costs and bring Kairos Power's technology to market more quickly," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director for energy and climate, wrote in a blog post. "This is an important part of our approach to scale the benefits of advanced technologies to more people and communities, and builds on our previous efforts." The AI boom -- and the enormous amount of data center power it requires -- has led to several deals between Big Tech companies and the nuclear industry. In September, Microsoft forged an agreement with Constellation Energy to bring a unit of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania back online. In March, Amazon bought a nuclear-powered data center from Talen Energy.

Google Goes Nuclear, Buying Energy From US Reactors to Power AI

Google sign outside a data center in Papillion, NE. (Credit: The Washington Post / Contributor via Getty Images) Google has signed a long-term deal to buy nuclear power from Kairos Power's upcoming small modular reactors (SMRs), the companies announced this week. Kairos will build an unspecified number of SMRs to provide electricity to Google data centers, with the goal of adding 500 MW of electricity to US power grids. Google says the deal is important for powering AI tech, like its own Gemini. Kairos's SMRs use a low-pressure system with molten-salt cooling, which Google claims make it safer and cheaper to operate than other nuclear reactor types. "Having an agreement for multiple deployments is important to accelerate the commercialization of advanced nuclear energy by demonstrating the technical and market viability of a solution critical to decarbonizing power grids while delivering much-needed energy generation and capacity," said Jeff Olson, Kairos Power Vice President, Business Development & Finance, in a statement. Google presents nuclear energy as a "clean" alternative to carbon dioxide-producing options, like coal-burning plants. But that's not exactly the case. SMRs still produce various types of waste. In 2022, a Stanford-led research team found that SMRs specifically will "exacerbate" existing problems with radioactive nuclear waste. A report hosted on the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's site details how Kairos reactors produce different types of waste, including radioactive waste, and explains how the company plans to manage said waste. Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal also found that molten salt-cooled SMRs (as well sodium- and water-cooled SMRs) actually "increase the volume of nuclear waste in need of management and disposal by factors of 2 to 30" compared to other reactor types. All that said, some may still see the energy source as worth it despite these issues. When it comes to AI, energy experts more broadly have previously shared their concerns with AI's sky-high power needs -- and whether the US grid can play catch-up with demand. It takes time, often many years, to add new power sources like a new nuclear power plant to existing power grids due to existing regulations. But while new additions slowly join the grid, AI models from the likes of Microsoft, Meta, and Google are already using energy today. As MIT researcher and director of the university's Tata Center for Technology and Design Robert Stoner explained to PCMag earlier this year: "Utilities really don't like adding renewable power plants to their systems. They stress them, they add a lot of peak current at times of the day that are not the same as they are if the system doesn't have those sources. They resist, and they hum and they haw." Stoner also offered a measured critique of energy deals where big tech firms promise to add new sources to the grid through power purchase agreements (PPAs), like that between Google and Kairos. "The problem with that is it's not necessarily additional," Stoner told PCMag. "The companies can make themselves feel good by entering into these sorts of arrangements, [but] they're really just consuming renewable energy that others would happily consume as well."

Google goes nuclear to support its AI Data Centres

The deal enables up to 500 MW of new 24/7 carbon-free power to U.S. electricity grids. Tech giant Google announced on October 14 that it will purchase nuclear power to supply energy to its AI data centres. The company plans to address the high electricity demand propelled by its AI development. Google signed an agreement with California-based Kairos Power to purchase nuclear energy produced by it. As part of the agreement, Google will harness nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) to be safely developed and brought online by Kairos by 2030. Earlier in July, the tech giant announced that it had already started using AI for climate action, considering its environmental impacts and responsibly managing its use. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced on X, "It's the latest step in our history of accelerating clean energy sources and will help support AI investments." With this step, Google joins Microsoft in exploring the possibility of harnessing nuclear energy to fuel its operations. Microsoft began its journey in September with Constellation Energy to buy all of the electricity generated by the reactor for 20 years. Others will follow suit as big tech companies race towards nuclear energy to power their data centres and combat energy needs. Kairos Power's technology features a molten-salt cooling system paired with ceramic pebble-like fuel, efficiently transferring heat to a steam turbine for power generation. The company claims this inherent design enables the reactor to function at low pressure, resulting in a simpler, more cost-effective nuclear reactor. "Overall, this deal will enable up to 500 MW of new 24/7 carbon-free power to U.S. electricity grids and help more communities benefit from clean and affordable nuclear power," the company said on its official blog. Why is the deal pivotal? Today, AI technologies are a significant source of new scientific advancements, economic growth, and improved customer and business services. To sustain these technologies, it is essential to find newer, cleaner, and more efficient sources of electricity. Last November, Google partnered with Fervo, a clean-energy startup, to develop a geothermal power project that contributes carbon-free energy to the electric grid. This approach supports new advanced nuclear power sources and complements Google's 24/7 carbon-free energy and net-zero goals of using various renewable energy sources, like solar and wind.

Amazon, Google make dueling nuclear investments to power data centers with clean energy

Amazon on Wednesday said that it was investing in small nuclear reactors, coming just two days after a similar announcement by Google, as both tech giants seek new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. The plans come as the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said last month it plans to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft can buy the power to supply its data centers. All three companies have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Now they say they need to go further in the search for clean electricity to meet both demand and their own commitments to cut emissions. Nuclear energy is a climate solution in that its reactors don't emit the planet-warming greenhouse gases that come from power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas. The demand for power is surging globally as buildings and vehicles electrify. People used more electricity than ever last year, placing strain on electric grids around the world. Much of the demand also comes from data centers and artificial intelligence. The International Energy Agency forecasts that data centers' total electricity consumption could reach more than 1,000 terawatt hours in 2026, more than doubling from 2022. Estimates suggest one terawatt hour can power 70,000 homes for a year. "AI is driving a significant increase in the amount of data centers and power that are required on the grid," Kevin Miller, Amazon Web Services' vice president of global data centers, told The Associated Press, adding: "We view advanced new nuclear capacity as really key and essential." The United States is pursuing small modular reactors, a type of nuclear reactor that can generate up to roughly one-third the amount of power of a traditional reactor. Developers say small reactors will be built faster and at a lower cost than large power reactors, scaling to fit needs of a particular location. They aim to start spinning up electricity in the early 2030s, if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives permission to build and operate their designs and the technology succeeds. If new, clean power isn't added as data centers are developed, the U.S. runs the risk of "browning the grid," or including more power that isn't made from clean sources, said Kathryn Huff, a former U.S. assistant secretary for nuclear energy who is now an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The reactors are currently under development, with none currently providing power to the electric grid in the U.S. Big investors can help change that, and these announcements could be the "inflection point" that makes scaling up this technology truly possible, Huff said. Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, echoed that, saying the industry needs customers who value the reliability and carbon-free attributes of nuclear and are willing to pay a premium for it at first, until a number of the next-generation reactors are deployed and the cost comes down. On Monday, Google said it was signing a contract to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors that Kairos Power, a nuclear technology company, plans to develop. The news highlights "the technologies that we're going to need to achieve round the clock clean energy, not only for Google but for the world," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of energy and climate, told the AP. With Kairos, Google said it expects to bring the first small modular reactor online by 2030, with more to come through 2035. The deal is projected to bring 500 megawatts of power to the grid. For context, Google consumed more than 24 terawatt hours of electricity last year, according to the company's annual environmental report. One terawatt is equal to 1,000,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, Amazon's announcements Wednesday included working with utility Dominion Energy to explore putting a small modular reactor near its existing North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia. It's investing in reactor developer X-energy for its early development work, and collaborating with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington to put four of the X-energy reactors there. Combined, the three announcements could account for more than 5,000 megawatts of power by the late 2030s with the possibility of more. All of that is still likely only a small fraction of the company's total energy consumption, a figure that Amazon does not report publicly. New reactor designs pair well with industrial applications because they can be built on a small footprint and generate reliable power, with some able to provide high-temperature heat too, at the site, said Doug True, chief nuclear officer at the industry trade association, Nuclear Energy Institute. "It seems like a really good fit to support those facilities, and for a lot of different applications depending upon the amount of power that's needed by the customer," he said. Both Amazon and Google have committed to using renewable energy to address climate change. By 2030, Google has pledged to meet net-zero emissions, and run carbon-free energy every hour of every day on every grid where it operates. It says it has already matched 100% of its global electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases on an annual basis. However, the company has fallen short on decreasing its emissions. Amazon has said it would match all of its global electricity consumption with 100% renewable energy by 2030, and recently announced it met that goal early in 2023. Though the company has matched its consumption as far as purchases of an equivalent amount of renewable energy, that does not necessarily mean it is using that to power its operations. Amazon saw its electricity emissions drop 11%, but direct emissions -- known as Scope 1 -- increased 7%, according to its 2023 sustainability report. The company is also targeting net zero-carbon by 2040. ___ Read more of AP's climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Amazon, Google Make Dueling Nuclear Investments to Power Data Centers With Clean Energy

Amazon on Wednesday said that it was investing in small nuclear reactors, coming just two days after a similar announcement by Google, as both tech giants seek new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. The plans come as the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said last month it plans to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft can buy the power to supply its data centers. All three companies have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Now they say they need to go further in the search for clean electricity to meet both demand and their own commitments to cut emissions. Nuclear energy is a climate solution in that its reactors don't emit the planet-warming greenhouse gases that come from power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas. The demand for power is surging globally as buildings and vehicles electrify. People used more electricity than ever last year, placing strain on electric grids around the world. Much of the demand also comes from data centers and artificial intelligence. The International Energy Agency forecasts that data centers' total electricity consumption could reach more than 1,000 terawatt hours in 2026, more than doubling from 2022. Estimates suggest one terawatt hour can power 70,000 homes for a year. "AI is driving a significant increase in the amount of data centers and power that are required on the grid," Kevin Miller, Amazon Web Services' vice president of global data centers, told The Associated Press, adding: "We view advanced new nuclear capacity as really key and essential." The United States is pursuing small modular reactors, a type of nuclear reactor that can generate up to roughly one-third the amount of power of a traditional reactor. Developers say small reactors will be built faster and at a lower cost than large power reactors, scaling to fit needs of a particular location. They aim to start spinning up electricity in the early 2030s, if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives permission to build and operate their designs and the technology succeeds. If new, clean power isn't added as data centers are developed, the U.S. runs the risk of "browning the grid," or including more power that isn't made from clean sources, said Kathryn Huff, a former U.S. assistant secretary for nuclear energy who is now an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The reactors are currently under development, with none currently providing power to the electric grid in the U.S. Big investors can help change that, and these announcements could be the "inflection point" that makes scaling up this technology truly possible, Huff said. Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, echoed that, saying the industry needs customers who value the reliability and carbon-free attributes of nuclear and are willing to pay a premium for it at first, until a number of the next-generation reactors are deployed and the cost comes down. On Monday, Google said it was signing a contract to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors that Kairos Power, a nuclear technology company, plans to develop. The news highlights "the technologies that we're going to need to achieve round the clock clean energy, not only for Google but for the world," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of energy and climate, told the AP. With Kairos, Google said it expects to bring the first small modular reactor online by 2030, with more to come through 2035. The deal is projected to bring 500 megawatts of power to the grid. For context, Google consumed more than 24 terawatt hours of electricity last year, according to the company's annual environmental report. One terawatt is equal to 1,000,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, Amazon's announcements Wednesday included working with utility Dominion Energy to explore putting a small modular reactor near its existing North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia. It's investing in reactor developer X-energy for its early development work, and collaborating with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington to put four of the X-energy reactors there. Combined, the three announcements could account for more than 5,000 megawatts of power by the late 2030s with the possibility of more. All of that is still likely only a small fraction of the company's total energy consumption, a figure that Amazon does not report publicly. New reactor designs pair well with industrial applications because they can be built on a small footprint and generate reliable power, with some able to provide high-temperature heat too, at the site, said Doug True, chief nuclear officer at the industry trade association, Nuclear Energy Institute. "It seems like a really good fit to support those facilities, and for a lot of different applications depending upon the amount of power that's needed by the customer," he said. Both Amazon and Google have committed to using renewable energy to address climate change. By 2030, Google has pledged to meet net-zero emissions, and run carbon-free energy every hour of every day on every grid where it operates. It says it has already matched 100% of its global electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases on an annual basis. However, the company has fallen short on decreasing its emissions. Amazon has said it would match all of its global electricity consumption with 100% renewable energy by 2030, and recently announced it met that goal early in 2023. Though the company has matched its consumption as far as purchases of an equivalent amount of renewable energy, that does not necessarily mean it is using that to power its operations. Amazon saw its electricity emissions drop 11%, but direct emissions -- known as Scope 1 -- increased 7%, according to its 2023 sustainability report. The company is also targeting net zero-carbon by 2040. ___ Read more of AP's climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The return of the nuclear age -- Amazon reveals it is also investing in nuclear energy

Just days after Google announced that it would be investing in nuclear energy to fuel its AI data centers, Amazon has confirmed that it, too, is on board with nuclear. The Seattle company has announced a handful of agreements and investments focusing on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in an effort to clean up its energy supply and address the growing demand for power as a result of the AI boom. Although Amazon still remains committed to other clean energy sources, it stated that nuclear forms an important part of a mix thanks to its proven reliability. AWS CEO Matt Garman commented: "Nuclear is a safe source of carbon-free energy that can help power our operations and meet the growing demands of our customers, while helping us progress toward our Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040." Garman added: "Our agreements will encourage the construction of new nuclear technologies that will generate energy for decades to come." The new agreements include a partnership with Energy Northwest to develop reactors that are set to generate 320 megawatts in the first phase, with the potential to expand to 960 megawatts - the equivalent of around 770,000 homes. Another agreement with Dominion Energy to explore an SMR project in Virginia could provide at least 300 megawatts of power in the region, which is establishing itself as a tech hub and could see demand rise by a staggering 85% in the next 15 years. Amazon will also invest in X-energy, a company that develops SMR technology, to support over five gigawatts of nuclear projects. Besides the sustainability credentials, Amazon is also keen to point out that its projects will support around 1,000 temporary construction roles and 100 permanent operational roles for the Energy Northwest Project alone. This is on top of the company's previously announcement to co-locate a data center facility next to a Talen Energy nuclear plant for directly provided carbon-free energy.

Amazon, Google make dueling nuclear investments to power data centers with clean energy

Amazon on Wednesday said that it was investing in small nuclear reactors, coming just two days after a similar announcement by Google, as both tech giants seek new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. The plans come as the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said last month it plans to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft can buy the power to supply its data centers. All three companies have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Now they say they need to go further in the search for clean electricity to meet both demand and their own commitments to cut emissions. Nuclear energy is a climate solution in that its reactors don't emit the planet-warming greenhouse gases that come from power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas. The demand for power is surging globally as buildings and vehicles electrify. People used more electricity than ever last year, placing strain on electric grids around the world. Much of the demand also comes from data centers and artificial intelligence. The International Energy Agency forecasts that data centers' total electricity consumption could reach more than 1,000 terawatt hours in 2026, more than doubling from 2022. Estimates suggest one terawatt hour can power 70,000 homes for a year. "AI is driving a significant increase in the amount of data centers and power that are required on the grid," Kevin Miller, Amazon Web Services' vice president of global data centers, told The Associated Press, adding: "We view advanced new nuclear capacity as really key and essential." Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said she's thrilled Amazon is the latest to "BYOP" or "bring your own power" to the buildout of data centers. Granholm spoke at an event for Wednesday's announcement at Amazon's second headquarters in Virginia. Virginia's governor and two U.S. senators also attended. The United States aims to reach 100% clean electricity by 2035. Granholm said small modular reactors are a "huge piece of how we're going to solve this puzzle," a way to phase out fossil fuel power while responding to the increasing electricity demand from data centers and new factories. She said her department will provide $900 million to deploy more of these reactors. Small modular reactors are a type of nuclear reactor that can generate up to roughly one-third the amount of power of a traditional reactor. Developers say small reactors will be built faster and at a lower cost than large power reactors, scaling to fit needs of a particular location. They aim to start spinning up electricity in the early 2030s, if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives permission to build and operate their designs and the technology succeeds. If new, clean power isn't added as data centers are developed, the U.S. runs the risk of "browning the grid," or including more power that isn't made from clean sources, said Kathryn Huff, a former U.S. assistant secretary for nuclear energy who is now an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The reactors are currently under development, with none currently providing power to the electric grid in the U.S. Big investors can help change that, and these announcements could be the "inflection point" that makes scaling up this technology truly possible, Huff said. Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, echoed that, saying the industry needs customers who value the reliability and carbon-free attributes of nuclear and are willing to pay a premium for it at first, until a number of the next-generation reactors are deployed and the cost comes down. On Monday, Google said it was signing a contract to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors that Kairos Power, a nuclear technology company, plans to develop. The news highlights "the technologies that we're going to need to achieve round the clock clean energy, not only for Google but for the world," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of energy and climate, told the AP. With Kairos, Google said it expects to bring the first small modular reactor online by 2030, with more to come through 2035. The deal is projected to bring 500 megawatts of power to the grid. For context, Google consumed more than 24 terawatt hours of electricity last year, according to the company's annual environmental report. One terawatt is equal to 1,000,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, Amazon's announcements Wednesday included working with utility Dominion Energy to explore putting a small modular reactor near its existing North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia. It's investing in reactor developer X-energy for its early development work, and collaborating with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington to put four of the X-energy reactors there. Combined, the three announcements could account for more than 5,000 megawatts of power by the late 2030s with the possibility of more. All of that is still likely only a small fraction of the company's total energy consumption, a figure that Amazon does not report publicly. New reactor designs pair well with industrial applications because they can be built on a small footprint and generate reliable power, with some able to provide high-temperature heat too, at the site, said Doug True, chief nuclear officer at the industry trade association, Nuclear Energy Institute. "It seems like a really good fit to support those facilities, and for a lot of different applications depending upon the amount of power that's needed by the customer," he said. Both Amazon and Google have committed to using renewable energy to address climate change. By 2030, Google has pledged to meet net-zero emissions, and run carbon-free energy every hour of every day on every grid where it operates. It says it has already matched 100% of its global electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases on an annual basis. However, the company has fallen short on decreasing its emissions. Amazon has said it would match all of its global electricity consumption with 100% renewable energy by 2030, and recently announced it met that goal early in 2023. Though the company has matched its consumption as far as purchases of an equivalent amount of renewable energy, that does not necessarily mean it is using that to power its operations. Amazon saw its electricity emissions drop 11%, but direct emissions -- known as Scope 1 -- increased 7%, according to its 2023 sustainability report. The company is also targeting net zero-carbon by 2040. ___ Read more of AP's climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Alexa St. John And Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press

Google just bought seven nuclear reactors to power its AI | Digital Trends

Google announced on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with nuclear energy startup Kairos Power to purchase 500 megawatts of "new 24/7 carbon-free power" from seven of the company's small modular reactors (SMRs). The companies are reportedly looking at an initial delivery from the first SMR in 2030 and a full rollout by 2035. "The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of Energy and Climate, wrote in a Google Blog on Tuesday. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone." Recommended Videos Terrell argues that the adoption of nuclear power will complement the company's existing solar power and wind power investments and help it achieve its net-zero energy goals. He also touts nuclear energy as a source of high-paying, long-term jobs, citing a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimate that building out to 200 gigawatts of capacity by 2050 will require an additional 375,000 workers. Google's first advanced nuclear clean energy deal Google is far from the only major tech company eyeing nuclear energy as the answer to its AI power problems. Amazon Web Services purchased a 960-megawatt data center campus from Houston-based Talen Energy in March for a sum of $650 million. In September, Microsoft announced that it is working to restart Unit 1 at New York's Three Mile Island in an effort to power its AI data centers. That same month, Oracle announced that it is designing a 1-gigawatt data center that will be powered by a trio of small nuclear reactors. "The location and the power place we've located, they've already got building permits for three nuclear reactors," Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said during a quarterly investors call. "These are the small modular nuclear reactors to power the data center. This is how crazy it's getting. This is what's going on." Kairos is also facing increasing competition from other small modular reactor manufacturers. Westinghouse, for example, is currently testing a micro reactor that can run 24/7 for five years without needing to be refueled. Given the astronomical energy (and cooling) requirements of today's frontier AI models, these advancements can't come soon enough.

Google is going nuclear for AI

The deal, in partnership with California-based Kairos Power, Google aims to build six to seven of these compact reactors by 2035, with the first expected to go live as soon as 2030. The power demands of artificial intelligence are exploding, and Google says nuclear energy provides the "clean, round-the-clock power" it needs to keep its operations running on carbon-free energy 24/7. According to some estimates, training cutting-edge AI models like ChatGPT or Google's own Gemini consumes immense energy, potentially generating as much as 626,000 pounds of CO2 per model. That's equivalent to roughly "300 round-trip flights between New York and San Francisco, or five times the lifetime emissions of an average car." Google isn't the only tech giant making a play for nuclear energy in the AI era. Last month, Microsoft made headlines by announcing its own nuclear energy deal -- a plan to revive the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst nuclear meltdown in U.S. history. The facility has long been dormant and is now slated to be restored to meet Microsoft's growing AI energy demands. Even Amazon has a nuclear energy deal. While locations and financial specifics for these deals are still under wraps, the deal has already been set in motion. The company has committed to buying 500 megawatts of nuclear power -- enough to drive an electric car around 2 million miles. Kairos also plans to have a demonstration plant slated for construction in Tennessee, set to be operational by 2027.

Why Google is Turning to Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers

Several countries are investing in the development and deployment of SMRs, which are expected to play a significant role in the future of nuclear energy. Google's interest in nuclear power aligns with this trend, as SMRs offer the potential to meet the growing energy demands of AI data centers in a sustainable and scalable manner. While nuclear power presents many advantages, there are also concerns about its safety, waste management, and public perception. High-profile nuclear accidents, such as the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters, have raised concerns about the safety of nuclear energy. However, modern nuclear reactors are equipped with advanced safety mechanisms that significantly reduce the risk of accidents. Waste management is another challenge associated with nuclear energy. Nuclear reactors produce radioactive waste that must be carefully stored and managed to prevent environmental contamination. Advances in nuclear technology, including the development of fast reactors that can recycle nuclear waste, offer promising solutions to this challenge. Public perception of nuclear energy has also been a hurdle in many regions. While some view nuclear power as a clean and reliable energy source, others remain skeptical due to concerns about safety and waste. To overcome these challenges, companies like Google will need to work with governments and regulatory bodies to ensure that nuclear power is deployed safely and responsibly. As the demand for AI-driven technologies grows, so too does the need for reliable and scalable energy sources. Google's exploration of nuclear power for its AI data centers reflects a broader trend in the tech industry to seek out sustainable solutions that can meet the massive energy requirements of AI workloads. Nuclear power, with its ability to provide uninterrupted, scalable, and low-carbon energy, offers a promising solution to the challenges posed by traditional renewable energy sources. The development of small modular reactors (SMRs) further enhances the viability of nuclear power as a future energy solution for AI data centers. These reactors offer flexibility, safety, and cost efficiency, making them an ideal choice for powering the next generation of AI infrastructure. While concerns about nuclear energy remain, advances in technology and waste management are addressing many of these challenges, paving the way for a future where nuclear power plays a key role in the growth of AI.

Google goes nuclear in new deal to power AI

Why it matters: It's Google's first nuclear foray as the tech giant -- and its peers -- hunt for zero-carbon power to fuel energy-thirsty AI data centers. Driving the news: If successful, it will bring 500 new megawatts of power to U.S. grids, with the first SMR targeted to come online by 2030 and more through 2035, it said. Reality check: Despite some progress, the SMR industry has yet to successfully commercialize and scale the tech. The big picture: Tech companies are increasingly looking at nuclear energy -- in various forms -- as they face pressure to prevent the AI surge from worsening climate change. State of play: California-based Kairos has Energy Department backing, and has begun constructing a demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. What we don't know: Google and Kairos didn't provide any information about the costs or financial structure of the deal. What we're watching: Other potential Google forays into nuclear, which Terrell didn't rule out. The bottom line: "We believe that nuclear energy has a critical role to play in supporting our clean growth and helping to deliver on the progress of AI," Terrell said.

Google is also betting on nuclear power plants to boost its AI - Softonic

Google signs the world's first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMR) Google has signed a new agreement to use multiple small nuclear reactors, also known as SMRs. The goal is to supply energy to the increasingly demanding artificial intelligence data centers and "accelerate the transition to clean energy in the United States." The agreement, made with the company Kairos Power, will allow the first reactor to be operational by 2030. Of course, this is just the beginning, as more reactors are planned to be launched in 2035. However, these plans still need to be approved by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission before the agreement fully materializes. Last year, the same agencies granted Kairos Power the first permit in 50 years to build a new type of nuclear reactor, according to the BBC. The rise of artificial intelligence has led major tech companies to seek new ways to power their gigantic servers and data centers. Nuclear energy, which produces almost no carbon and generates electricity continuously, has been proposed as the best and least polluting option. Last month, Microsoft reached another similar agreement to resume operations at the Three Mile Island power plant in Pennsylvania. Many may recognize this place, as it was where the worst nuclear accident in the United States occurred in 1979. The Redmond company agreed to acquire the energy production from this plant for the next 20 years to power its AI centers. Amazon is also following a similar path: last March, the company announced it would purchase a data center that operates with nuclear energy in the state of Pennsylvania.

Google goes nuclear to power its artificial intelligence ambitions

Google has signed a deal to use small nuclear reactors to generate the vast amounts of energy needed to power its artificial intelligence (AI) data centres. The company says the agreement with Kairos Power will see it start using the first reactor this decade and bring more online by 2035. Technology firms are increasingly turning to nuclear sources of energy to supply the electricity used by huge data centres that drive AI. The companies did not give any details about how much the deal is worth or where the plants will be built.

Google set to power it's AI data centres with mini-nuclear reactors

The tech giant has announced a deal to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors developed by California based Kairos Power. In a new effort to power its AI data centres with clean energy, Google has turned to nuclear energy and signed a partnership with US-based Kairos Power which is developing small modular reactors (SMRs). "Today, we're [...] signing the world's first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) to be developed by Kairos Power," said Google in a statement. The first such reactor to power Google's data centres is expected to be operational by 2030, followed by additional reactor deployments through to 2035. Google added: "Overall, this deal will enable up to 500 MW of new 24/7 carbon-free power to US electricity grids. The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies." That is enough to power roughly 360,000 homes with electricity annually. Data centres are the heart of the digital economy and their overall energy consumption is expected to double between 2023 and 2028 reaching 857 Terawatt hours (TWh) by the end of this period. Kairos Power has been developing small modular reactors that use a molten-salt cooling system (instead of water), promising shorter construction time and more adaptable solutions for localised needs. The technology is not ready, however, the deal is seen as an important step in unlocking the path to long-term commercial scale. This summer, Kairos Power broke ground on its demonstration reactor in Tennessee, the first such project to receive a construction permit from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone," added Google. The company has not revealed the deal's value or the planned location of the reactors.

Nuclear industry seeing 'unprecedented' instances of customers driving demand amid AI enthusiasm: executive chairman

Following a series of announcements from big tech companies investing in nuclear power, one energy executive says it is the first time the nuclear power industry is being met with urgent demand. Late last month, Bloomberg News reported that Microsoft Corp. entered into an agreement to pay a large premium to Constellation Energy Corp. to source clean power from the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania when it is restarted. On Wednesday Amazon said it is investing in small nuclear reactors to meet power demands from data centres and artificial intelligence. Amazon's announcement came two days after a similar one from Google. On Microsoft's announcement, Bannerman Energy Executive Chairman Brandon Munro told BNN Bloomberg in a Thursday interview it was "yet another announcement in a string of positive demand developments for nuclear power." "What we've seen is an unprecedented example in our sector of customers driving demand. But with urgency and that's what we've seen with all three of these announcements, with the announcement with Constellation and Microsoft and then with Google and Amazon Web Services over the last two days," he said. "It's the first time that the nuclear power sector is being led forward by urgent customer demand and in itself that will add significantly to the demand for uranium over the next five to 10 years." Munro added that it will take time for the Three Mile Island to become operational since the plant was shut down in 2019. "What's different here is because we are seeing the restart of a reactor that was most recently operating in 2019 the timeframe for that gigawatt of new nuclear power is significantly curtailed compared to what we would expect if it's a brand new reactor that's being constructed," he said. "So that brings forward demand that Constellation will have for nuclear power. Similarly with the small modular reactors that we're seeing being supported by Amazon Web Services and Google, many commentators expected those reactors to only start to have a demand impact in the mid-2030s."

Google to buy power for AI needs from small modular nuclear reactor company Kairos

Alphabet's Google signs the first corporate deal to purchase 500 megawatts from Kairos Power's small modular reactors by 2035, meeting AI-driven electricity demand. Kairos aims to bring the first SMR online by 2030, despite permitting and cost challenges.Alphabet's Google said on Monday it signed the world's first corporate agreement to buy power from multiple small modular reactors to meet electricity demand for artificial intelligence. The technology company's agreement with Kairos Power aims to bring Kairos' first small modular reactor online by 2030, followed by additional deployments through 2035. The companies did not reveal financial details of the agreement or where in the U.S. the plants would be built. Google said it has agreed to buy a total of 500 megawatts of power from six to seven reactors, which is smaller than the output of today's nuclear reactors. "We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand ... cleanly in a way that's more around the clock," Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, told reporters on a call. Technology firms have signed several recent agreements with nuclear power companies this year as artificial intelligence boosts power demand for the first time in decades. In March, Amazon.com purchased a nuclear-powered datacenter from Talen Energy. Last month, Microsoft and Constellation Energy signed a power deal to help resurrect a unit of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst U.S. nuclear accident in 1979. U.S. data center power use is expected to roughly triple between 2023 and 2030 and will require about 47 gigawatts of new generation capacity, according to Goldman Sachs estimates, which assumed natural gas, wind and solar power would fill the gap. Kairos will need to get full construction and design permitting from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as well as permits from local agencies, a process that can take years. Kairos late last year got a construction permit from the NRC to build a demonstration reactor in Tennessee. "The NRC is ready to efficiently and appropriately review applications for new reactors," said Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesperson. Small modular reactors are intended to be smaller than today's reactors with components built in a factory, instead of onsite, to reduce construction costs. Critics say SMRs will be expensive because they may not be able to achieve the economy of scale of larger plants. In addition, they will likely produce long-lasting nuclear waste for which the country does not yet have a final repository. Google said by committing to a so-called order book framework with Kairos, instead of buying one reactor at a time, it is sending a demand signal to the market and making a long-term investment to speed development of SMRs. "We're confident that this novel approach is going to improve the prospects of our projects being delivered on cost and on schedule," said Mike Laufer, CEO and co-founder of Kairos.

Google's nuclear move shows Big Tech is spreading the love

Catch up quick: Google inked a deal with Kairos Power for deployment of 500 megawatts' worth of SMRs by 2035, with the first targeted to arrive by 2030. Why it matters: It's Google's first nuclear foray as the tech giant -- and its peers -- hunt for zero-carbon power to fuel energy-thirsty AI data centers. Google's plan is vague right now. The company and Kairos offered no specifics on the costs, financial timelines, or other money matters. Nor are there location details. It could have effects beyond Google. Power researcher Jesse Jenkins said Google is using its purchasing power to "create early market pull to help commercialize advanced clean firm power technologies." Reality check: SMRs face big regulatory, financial and other hurdles. And for now, the wider data center build-out looks bullish for fossil fuels. The bottom line: Tech giants have deep pockets and face strong pressure to fuel AI without lots of new emissions, and that could help knock those SMR barriers down.

Google signs deal to use small modular nuclear reactors to power AI data centers

Google has signed a deal with Kairos Power to build a fleet of small modular nuclear reactors to power its data centers, the tech giant announced Monday. The small modular reactors, a type of next generation nuclear reactor that has yet to be built in the U.S., are scheduled to be completed between 2030 and 2035 and will produce 500 megawatts of power. The deal comes at a crucial moment, as Google and other Big Tech firms search for ways to meet the extensive energy demands of artificial intelligence (AI). "The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth," Michael Terrell, Google's senior director of energy and climate, wrote in a blog post. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone," he added. Kairos Power touted Google as "more than just a customer" following the deal's announcement. "Our partnership with Google will enable Kairos Power to quickly advance down the learning curve as we drive toward cost and schedule certainty for our commercial product," Kairos CEO and co-founder Mike Laufer said in a statement. Google CEO Sundar Pichai told Nikkei earlier this month that he was looking at using nuclear energy, including small modular reactors, to power the company's data centers. Nuclear represents a key carbon-free source of energy at a time when the tech giant is struggling to cut its emissions and reach its goal of becoming net-zero by the end of the decade. Google's emissions rose 13 percent in 2023 and are up 48 percent since 2019.

Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Google on Monday signed a deal to get electricity from small nuclear reactors to help power artificial intelligence. The agreement to buy energy from reactors built by Kairos Power came just weeks after word that Three Mile Island, the site of America's worst nuclear accident, will restart operations to provide energy to Microsoft. "We believe that nuclear energy has a critical role to play in supporting our clean growth and helping to deliver on the progress of AI," Google senior director of energy and climate said during a briefing. "The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build out of these technologies." No financial details were disclosed. Microsoft use of Three Mile Island's nuclear energy will bolster a power grid covering 13 states. This area faces severe strain from data centers' massive energy consumption, raising concerns about grid stability as AI demands increase. Amazon's AWS agreed in March to invest USD650 million in a data center campus powered by another Pennsylvania nuclear plant. Nuclear energy has staunch opponents due to concerns about radioactive waste disposal, the potential for catastrophic accidents, and the high costs associated with plant construction and decommissioning. The 1979 partial meltdown of Unit 2 at Three Mile Island caused panic in the United States and brought the expansion of nuclear energy to a standstill. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission deemed it the "most serious accident in US commercial nuclear power plant operating history," though it noted no detectable health effects on workers or the public from the small radioactive releases.

Google to Buy Power for AI Needs from Kairos

Kairos will need to get full construction, design permitting from US Alphabet's Google said on Monday it signed the world's first corporate agreement to buy power from multiple small modular reactors to meet electricity demand for artificial intelligence. The technology company's agreement with Kairos Power aims to bring Kairos' first small modular reactor online by 2030, followed by additional deployments through 2035. The companies did not reveal financial details of the agreement or where in the US the plants would be built. Google said it has agreed to buy a total of 500 megawatts of power from six to seven reactors, which is smaller than the output of today's nuclear reactors. "We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand ... cleanly in a way that's more around the clock," Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, told reporters on a call. Technology firms have signed several recent agreements with nuclear power companies this year as artificial intelligence boosts power demand for the first time in decades. In March, Amazon.com purchased a nuclear-powered datacenter from Talen Energy. Last month, Microsoft and Constellation Energy signed a power deal to help resurrect a unit of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst US nuclear accident in 1979. US data center power use is expected to roughly triple between 2023 and 2030 and will require about 47 gigawatts of new generation capacity, according to Goldman Sachs estimates, which assumed natural gas, wind and solar power would fill the gap. Kairos will need to get full construction and design permitting from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission as well as permits from local agencies, a process that can take years. Kairos late last year got a construction permit from the NRC to build a demonstration reactor in Tennessee. "The NRC is ready to efficiently and appropriately review applications for new reactors," said Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesperson. Small modular reactors are intended to be smaller than today's reactors with components built in a factory, instead of onsite, to reduce construction costs. Critics say SMRs will be expensive because they may not be able to achieve the economy of scale of larger plants. In addition, they will likely produce long-lasting nuclear waste for which the country does not yet have a final repository. Google said by committing to a so-called order book framework with Kairos, instead of buying one reactor at a time, it is sending a demand signal to the market and making a long-term investment to speed development of SMRs. "We're confident that this novel approach is going to improve the prospects of our projects being delivered on cost and on schedule," said Mike Laufer, CEO and co-founder of Kairos. © Thomson Reuters 2024

Google will help build seven nuclear reactors to power its AI systems

The first plant is expected to come online by 2030, the company announced in a blog post. Other reactors will be deployed by 2035. All totaled, the deal will funnel 500 megawatts of power to the company's AI technologies -- enough to power a midsized city. "Nuclear solutions offer a clean, round-the-clock power source that can help us reliably meet electricity demands with carbon-free energy every hour of every day," Google wrote in the blog. "Advancing these power sources in close partnership with supportive local communities will rapidly drive the decarbonization of electricity grids around the world." The smaller reactors created by Kairos, a nuclear energy startup, are different than the towers most people think of when they conjure up an image of a nuclear reactor. The company uses a molten salt cooling system (much like the one that will be used for the on-site reactor being built on the campus of Abilene Christian University), which operates at a lower pressure. The company broke ground on a demonstration reactor, which will be unpowered, earlier this year in Tennessee. Google did not unveil the cost of the partnership. The project site (or sites) have not yet been determined. Google's announcement comes weeks after Microsoft announced a partnership with Constellation Energy that will see the undamaged reactor at Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, resume operations to power Microsoft's AI data centers. Experts have warned data centers could become a big strain on the U.S. power grid, with the nine-year projected growth forecast for North America essentially doubling from where it stood a year ago. Last year, the five-year forecast from Grid Strategies projected growth of 2.6%. That number has since nearly doubled to 4.7% -- and planners expect peak demand to grow by 38 gigawatts. In real-world terms, that's sufficient to power 12.7 million homes.

Google is going nuclear to power AI

California's new $20 minimum wage for fast food workers didn't cost jobs, study says The tech giant has commissioned several new small modular reactors (SMRs) from Alameda, California-based nuclear power startup Kairos Power, Google parent Alphabet announced Monday. Under the agreement, Google plans to get the first power plant online by 2030, followed by additional reactor deployments through 2035. The deal will add 500 megawatts of power to U.S. electric grids, as it looks to satisfy growing electricity demands from its data centers using carbon-free energy sources. The company said this "helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone." The announcement follows an agreement between Microsoft (MSFT) and energy firm Constellation (CEG) last month that will reopen one of the nuclear reactors on Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island to power Microsoft's data centers. An independent but neighboring reactor at the nuclear site was home to the the worst meltdown ever at a U.S. commercial nuclear power plant in 1979. The Microsoft project, known as the Crane Clean Energy Center, is expected to go online in 2028, the company said. It's expected to provide upwards of 800 MW to the grid. Google's partnership with Kairos is its latest effort to scale up its energy capacity, as AI continues to bring energy supply questions to the fore. Last November, Google developed a geothermal project with developer Fervo Energy that supplies power to its data centers in Nevada. The company has said it hopes to entirely operate its data centers and office campuses using 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030. Google's greenhouse gas emissions rose by 48% between 2019 and 2023, it disclosed in a sustainability report earlier this year. Also in 2023, total data center electricity consumption at Google grew 17% -- a "trend" it said it expects will continue. Google attributed this surge to increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions, particularly as the company continues to integrate AI into its products. And this will be an industry-wide adjustment. The International Energy Agency estimated in its latest annual forecast that the total electricity consumption of data centers -- which house computing systems -- could reach more than 1,000 terawatt hours in 2026. For scale, a single Google search uses 0.3 watt-hours of electricity, while a request for OpenAI's ChatGPT takes 2.9 watt-hours, the agency found. If there were 9 billion ChatGPT queries daily, this would require almost 10 terawatt hours of additional electricity in a year.

Google to buy power from small modular nuclear reactor company Kairos for AI needs

WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google said on Monday it signed the world's first corporate agreement to buy power from multiple small modular reactors as the technology company looks to meet electricity demand from artificial intelligence. The agreement with Kairos Power aims to bring Kairos' first small modular reactor online by 2030, followed by additional deployments through 2035. The companies did not reveal financial details of the agreement or where in the U.S. the plants would be built. Google said it has agreed to buy 500 megawatts of power from six to seven reactors, which is smaller than the output of today's nuclear reactors. Advertisement · Scroll to continue "We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand ... cleanly in a way that's more around the clock," Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, told reporters on a call. Technology firms have signed several recent agreements with nuclear power companies this year as artificial intelligence boosts power demand for the first time in decades. In March, Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab purchased a nuclear-powered datacenter from Talen Energy (TLN.O), opens new tab. Last month, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and Constellation Energy (CEG.O), opens new tab signed a power deal to help resurrect a unit of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst U.S. nuclear accident in 1979. Advertisement · Scroll to continue U.S. data center power use is expected to roughly triple between 2023 and 2030 and will require about 47 gigawatts of new generation capacity, according to Goldman Sachs estimates, which assumed natural gas, wind and solar power would fill the gap. The Google deal will depend on Kairos getting full permitting from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and local agencies. Kairos late last year got a construction permit from the NRC to build a demonstration reactor in Tennessee. But Kairos needs design and construction permits from the NRC for the reactors in the deal announced on Monday. Small modular reactors are intended to be smaller than today's reactors with components built in a factory, instead of onsite, to help cut construction costs. Critics say SMRs will be expensive because they may not be able to achieve the economy of scale of larger plants. In addition, they will likely produce long-lasting nuclear waste for which the country does not yet have a final repository. Google said by committing to a so-called order book framework with Kairos, instead of buying one reactor at a time, it is sending a demand signal to the market and making a long-term investment to speed development of SMRs. "We're confident that this novel approach is going to improve the prospects of our projects being delivered on cost and on schedule," said Mike Laufer, CEO and co-founder of Kairos. Reporting by Timothy Gardner Editing by Bill Berkrot Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Timothy Gardner Thomson Reuters Timothy reports on energy and environment policy and is based in Washington, D.C. His coverage ranges from the latest in nuclear power, to environment regulations, to U.S. sanctions and geopolitics. He has been a member of three teams in the past two years that have won Reuters best journalism of the year awards. As a cyclist he is happiest outside.

Google to buy power from small modular nuclear reactor company Kairos for AI needs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google said on Monday it signed the world's first corporate agreement to buy power from multiple small modular reactors as the technology company looks to meet electricity demand from artificial intelligence. The agreement with Kairos Power aims to bring Kairos' first small modular reactor online by 2030, followed by additional deployments through 2035. The companies did not reveal financial details of the agreement or where in the U.S. the plants would be built. Google said it has agreed to buy 500 megawatts of power from six to seven reactors, which is smaller than the output of today's nuclear reactors. "We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand ... cleanly in a way that's more around the clock," Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, told reporters on a call. Technology firms have signed several recent agreements with nuclear power companies this year as artificial intelligence boosts power demand for the first time in decades. In March, Amazon.com purchased a nuclear-powered datacenter from Talen Energy. Last month, Microsoft and Constellation Energy signed a power deal to help resurrect a unit of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst U.S. nuclear accident in 1979. U.S. data center power use is expected to roughly triple between 2023 and 2030 and will require about 47 gigawatts of new generation capacity, according to Goldman Sachs estimates, which assumed natural gas, wind and solar power would fill the gap. The Google deal will depend on Kairos getting full permitting from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and local agencies. Kairos late last year got a construction permit from the NRC to build a demonstration reactor in Tennessee. But Kairos needs design and construction permits from the NRC for the reactors in the deal announced on Monday. Small modular reactors are intended to be smaller than today's reactors with components built in a factory, instead of onsite, to help cut construction costs. Critics say SMRs will be expensive because they may not be able to achieve the economy of scale of larger plants. In addition, they will likely produce long-lasting nuclear waste for which the country does not yet have a final repository. Google said by committing to a so-called order book framework with Kairos, instead of buying one reactor at a time, it is sending a demand signal to the market and making a long-term investment to speed development of SMRs. "We're confident that this novel approach is going to improve the prospects of our projects being delivered on cost and on schedule," said Mike Laufer, CEO and co-founder of Kairos. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

Google to buy power for AI needs from small modular nuclear reactor company Kairos

Alphabet logo and AI Artificial Intelligence words are seen in this illustration taken, May 4, 2023. Reuters-Yonhap Alphabet's Google said on Monday it signed the world's first corporate agreement to buy power from multiple small modular reactors to meet electricity demand for artificial intelligence. The technology company's agreement with Kairos Power aims to bring Kairos' first small modular reactor online by 2030, followed by additional deployments through 2035. The companies did not reveal financial details of the agreement or where in the U.S. the plants would be built. Google said it has agreed to buy a total of 500 megawatts of power from six to seven reactors, which is smaller than the output of today's nuclear reactors. "We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand ... cleanly in a way that's more around the clock," Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, told reporters on a call. Technology firms have signed several recent agreements with nuclear power companies this year as artificial intelligence boosts power demand for the first time in decades. In March, Amazon.com purchased a nuclear-powered datacenter from Talen Energy. Last month, Microsoft and Constellation Energy signed a power deal to help resurrect a unit of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst U.S. nuclear accident in 1979. U.S. data center power use is expected to roughly triple between 2023 and 2030 and will require about 47 gigawatts of new generation capacity, according to Goldman Sachs estimates, which assumed natural gas, wind and solar power would fill the gap. Kairos will need to get full construction and design permitting from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as well as permits from local agencies, a process that can take years. Kairos late last year got a construction permit from the NRC to build a demonstration reactor in Tennessee. "The NRC is ready to efficiently and appropriately review applications for new reactors," said Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesperson. Small modular reactors are intended to be smaller than today's reactors with components built in a factory, instead of onsite, to reduce construction costs. Critics say SMRs will be expensive because they may not be able to achieve the economy of scale of larger plants. In addition, they will likely produce long-lasting nuclear waste for which the country does not yet have a final repository. Google said by committing to a so-called order book framework with Kairos, instead of buying one reactor at a time, it is sending a demand signal to the market and making a long-term investment to speed development of SMRs. "We're confident that this novel approach is going to improve the prospects of our projects being delivered on cost and on schedule," said Mike Laufer, CEO and co-founder of Kairos. (Reuters)

Google Inks Nuclear Power Agreement to Fuel AI Growth

Kairos Power uses molten-salt cooling and ceramic fuel for safe, affordable energy solutions. Google has signed what it calls the world's first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMRs), developed by Kairos Power, to generate the vast amounts of energy needed to support its artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. According to Google, this deal is part of its ongoing efforts to accelerate clean energy solutions and meet its ambitious 24/7 carbon-free energy goals. Also Read: Google Features Startups Using AI to Transform Mental Health Support The company says the agreement aims to bring Kairos Power's first SMR online quickly and safely by 2030, with additional reactor deployments planned through 2035. These reactors will contribute up to 500 MW of new 24/7 carbon-free power to the US electricity grid, helping to meet the growing energy demands of AI technologies and drive national competitiveness. "The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies," said Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone." Kairos Power's technology uses a molten-salt cooling system combined with ceramic, pebble-type fuel to efficiently transport heat to a steam turbine for power generation. This passively safe system allows the reactor to operate at low pressure, enabling a simpler, more affordable nuclear reactor design, Google said. This summer, Kairos Power broke ground on its Hermes non-powered demonstration reactor in Tennessee, the first US advanced reactor project to receive a construction permit from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Also Read: Google and Vodafone Expand Partnership to Bring AI-Powered Services Across Europe and Africa Another reason Google cited for the agreement is that nuclear solutions offer a clean, round-the-clock power source that can help the company reliably meet electricity demands with carbon-free energy every hour of every day. The companies did not disclose any details about how much the deal is worth.

Google to purchase nuclear energy from Kairos to help power AI

Oct. 15 (UPI) --Google announced on Monday that it signed a corporate agreement to buy nuclear energy from several small modular reactors developed by California-based Kairos Power as a way to decrease its carbon footprint in the face of increasing energy needs. Michael Terrell, Google's senior director for energy and climate, said in a blog that the power grid needs new energy to support artificial intelligence while not contributing to climate change. He said the deal would enable up to 500 megawatts of new carbon-free power to U.S. electrical grids and help more communities benefit from clean, cheap power. He said the first small modular reactor would be up and running by 2030 followed by additional reactors by 2035. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone," Terrell said on a Google blog. "Nuclear solutions offer a clean, round-the-clock power source that can help us reliably meet electricity demands with carbon-free energy every hour of every day." According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, small modular reactors are advanced reactors about one-third the size of traditional reactors but can produce a large amount of low-carbon energy. The prefabricated units can be shipped to desired locations, reduce the construction time and be customized for sites that have been long off-limits for such nuclear reactors, the IAEA said. Terrell said that with the support of local communities, nuclear energy can lead to the decarbonization of the electrical grid around the world. Terrell touted that the smaller size and "simplified design" of modular reactors can "reduce construction timelines, allow deployment in more places and make the final project delivery more predictable." Google's deal comes after an announcement last month that the company Constellation signed a 20-year deal with Microsoft to restore the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania for its future energy needs. That reopening is expected to create 835 megawatts of carbon-free energy and create 3,400 jobs. In September, the Biden administration said it reached a $1.52 billion loan agreement to give a Michigan nuclear power plant back to life to feed power to several rural electricity providers.

Google and Kairos sign nuclear reactor deal with aim to power AI

Architect's rendering of the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor facility. Credit: Kairos Power On Monday, Google announced an agreement with Kairos Power to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMRs), marking the first deal of its kind. The partnership aims to bring Kairos Power's initial SMR online by 2030, with additional reactor deployments planned through 2035. With the energy demands of AI growing, Google has not been alone in encouraging new development of alternative, no-emission power sources. "The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies," Google Senior Director of Energy and Climate Michael Terrell said in a press statement. "This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone." If the Google-Kairos plan succeeds, it will reportedly enable up to 500 MW of carbon-free power to be added to US electricity grids. For Google, it's a key step toward making its headlong rush into power-hungry (and sometimes dubious) AI applications seem environmentally clean and ethical at a time when the world has seen devastating meteorological effects from climate change. Kairos Power's SMR technology reportedly uses a "ceramic pebble-type fuel" that heats steam to generate power through a turbine, although the company has yet to create a working reactor. Kairos broke ground on its "Hermes" non-powered demonstration reactor in Tennessee in July after receiving a construction permit from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and it expects to bring it online by 2027 (slightly earlier than the date Google has cited).

Google's nuclear power plan could revolutionize cryptocurrency mining

A new paradigm for the production of nuclear energy could change the calculus for both artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining, but it requires substantial upfront investment in relatively untested technologies. The US will soon develop and deploy its first commercial small modular reactor (SMR). An SMR is a nuclear power source with a much smaller infrastructure footprint than traditional fission reactor plants. These so-called "next generation" reactors are also purported to be much safer. Small modular reactors While small reactors have been around since at least the 1950s, the advent of SMRs could serve as a game-changer for large organizations such as AI training and data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities. Unlike traditional reactors, SMRs can be manufactured in a factory and then shipped to a client's location. Functionally, these platforms can be set up to produce as much as 300 megawatts of energy and could feasibly be built almost anywhere. Crypto mining's power problem There are currently hundreds of peer-reviewed research articles available on the subject of cryptocurrency and clean energy. Many large mining companies have begun exploring nuclear power as a safe, clean alternative to traditional energy infrastructure. Related: TeraWulf goes nuclear: 8,000 rigs spool up in Nautilus mining facility However, the primary factors keeping the average cryptocurrency mining facility or artificial intelligence data center from relying on nuclear energy are availability and the high upfront costs of construction. SMRs solve some of those problems. They're purportedly easier to develop, require less maintenance and operational staff, environmentally friendly, and are theoretically substantially more economically feasible over the long term than alternative solutions including large nuclear reactors. However, they still require a significant upfront investment to develop. Google's new deal Kairos Power, a United States-based nuclear engineering company, recently inked a long-term deal with Google to develop and bring the company's first SMR online "quickly and safely by 2030," with continuing rollouts planned through 2035. Michael Terrell, senior director of energy and climate at Google, lauded the deal as a win for clean energy: "This landmark announcement will accelerate the transition to clean energy as Google and Kairos Power look to add 500 MW of new 24/7 carbon-free power to U.S. electricity grids." Google's commitment to developing what may ultimately become the first commercial US-based SMR manufacturing partnership represents the opening bell for the nascent commercial nuclear power industry. While not every company has pockets as deep as Google-parent corporation Alphabet, the cost of entry for on-site nuclear power is likely to drop as the first generation of SMRs are manufactured and improved upon over time. Ultimately, barring a fusion breakthrough, SMRs could be the cryptocurrency mining industry's most economically efficient and environmentally friendly method for energy generation.