Google has made a deal to use small nuclear reactors to help power its data centers, which need a lot of energy for artificial intelligence (AI).
The agreement with Kairos Power means Google will start using the first reactor within the next few years, with more reactors planned by 2035.
Neither company shared the cost of the deal or where the reactors will be located. More tech companies are now looking to nuclear energy as a way to provide electricity for the large data centers that run AI systems.
Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director for energy and climate, said the power grid needs new sources of electricity to support AI technology. “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.
Jeff Olson, an executive at Kairos, highlighted the deal’s importance in advancing nuclear energy. He stated it will show how advanced nuclear power can work and help reduce carbon emissions from the power grid.
Approval needed from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Before the project can move forward, both the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and local authorities need to give their approval.
In a notable move last year, Kairos Power, based in California, was granted the first permit in five decades to develop a new type of nuclear reactor.
$GOOGL is the latest company to explore nuclear energy for powering data centers — signaling a potential boom in nuclear power adoption over the next decade 🤔$OKLO, $NNE, $SMR pic.twitter.com/JGyTYw1JoH
— Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) October 3, 2024
This past July, the company began work on a test reactor in Tennessee, marking a key step in its efforts to explore advanced nuclear energy solutions.
The startup is developing compact nuclear reactors that use molten fluoride salt instead of the water used in conventional reactors.
As nuclear energy is nearly carbon-free and operates around the clock, it’s becoming an attractive option for tech companies aiming to reduce emissions while increasing energy consumption.
A report from Goldman Sachs predicts that energy use by data centers worldwide will more than double by the end of this decade. This has pushed the tech industry to seek out cleaner energy alternatives like nuclear power.
John Moore, an editor at TechTarget, explained to the BBC that AI data centers require significant electricity not only to run but also to cool the equipment. “These data centers are equipped with specialized hardware…that require lots of power, that generate lots of heat,” he said.
At a United Nations Climate Conference last year, the US committed to a plan with other nations to triple their nuclear energy capacity by 2050 in an effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.