Google Backing Nuclear Power Reactors for AI Data Centers – JP

Google has agreed to use small nuclear reactors to generate energy for its AI data center.

The agreement with California’s Kairos Power will see Google securing 500 megawatts (MW) of nuclear energy. The first reactors are expected to come online by 2030, with others coming online by 2035.

Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director for energy and climate, wrote in a blog post for the company that the deal will “help more communities benefit from clean and affordable nuclear power.”

“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,” he wrote. “This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone.”

Terrell explained that “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.”

Instead of using water, Kairos uses molten fluoride salt as a coolant and a “ceramic, pebble-type fuel, to efficiently transport heat to a steam turbine to generate power,” Terrell described. “This passively safe system allows the reactor to operate at low pressure, enabling a simpler more affordable nuclear reactor design.”

The locations of the Google plants have not been disclosed.

Other Big Tech companies have arranged deals for nuclear power. The Wall Street Journal reported that Constellation Energy and Microsoft recently entered into an agreement to restart a reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island. Amazon has similarly purchased a data center at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant.