Can nuclear power really fuel the rise of AI?
Nuclear power has emerged as a strong candidate for companies looking to power data centers while cutting emissions. Unlike wind turbines and solar arrays that generate electricity intermittently, nuclear power plants typically put out a constant supply of energy to the grid, which aligns well with what data centers need. “Data center companies pretty much want to run full out, 24/7,” says Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies, a consultancy focused on electricity and transmission.
It also doesn’t hurt that, while renewables are increasingly politicized and under attack by the current administration in the US, nuclear has broad support on both sides of the aisle.
The problem is how to build up nuclear capacity—existing facilities are limited, and new technologies will take time to build. In 2022, all the nuclear reactors in the US together provided around 800 terawatt-hours of electricity to the power grid, a number that’s been basically steady for the past two decades. To meet electricity demand from data centers expected in 2030 with nuclear power, we’d need to expand the fleet of reactors in the country by half.
New nuclear news
Some of the most exciting headlines regarding the burgeoning relationship between AI and nuclear technology involve large, established companies jumping in to support innovations that could bring nuclear power into the 21st century.
In October 2024, Google signed a deal with Kairos Power, a next-generation nuclear company that recently received construction approval for two demonstration reactors from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The company is working to build small, molten-salt-cooled reactors, which it says will be safer and more efficient than conventional technology. The Google deal is a long-term power-purchase agreement: The tech giant will buy up to 500 megawatts of electricity by 2035 from whatever plants Kairos manages to build, with the first one scheduled to come online by 2030.
Amazon is also getting involved with next-generation nuclear technology with a direct investment in Maryland-based X-energy. The startup is among those working to create smaller, more-standardized reactors that can be built more quickly and with less expense.
In October, Amazon signed a deal with Energy Northwest, a utility in Washington state, that will see Amazon fund the initial phase of a planned X-energy small modular reactor project in the state. The tech giant will have a right to buy electricity from one of the modules in the first project, which could generate 320 megawatts of electricity and be expanded to generate as much as 960 megawatts. Many new AI-focused data centers under construction will require 500 megawatts of power or more, so this project might be just large enough to power a single site.
The project will help meet energy needs “beginning in the early 2030s,” according to Amazon’s website. X-energy is currently in the pre-application process with the NRC, which must grant approval before the Washington project can move forward.