- Google has signed a deal with small modular reactor developer, Kairos Power, as it prepares to use nuclear power in its data centers.
- AI data centers require vast amounts of energy that traditional sources cannot provide.
- Hence to keep up the pace of innovation while being sustainable, the tech giant is switching to nuclear energy.
Google has decided to power its AI data centers with the help of nuclear power. It has already signed a deal with Kairos Power, a small modular reactor developer, to use its SMRs. The first reactor will be in use by the end of this decade and many more will be used by 2035.
The financial terms of the deal and a few other key details such as where the plants will be built are yet to be known. Also, the plan has to be approved by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other local agencies first. But this shouldn’t be a problem.
Last year, Kairos Power was given a permit to build a new type of reactor – the first such permit in 50 years. The construction of a demo reactor in Tennessee has already started.
In the past, similar attempts have been made to make nuclear power commercially available. However, those large-scale reactor projects were neither financially viable nor reliable. That’s why SMRs have taken their place now.
Through this deal with Kairos, Google is planning to add an additional 500 megawatts to the grid, which is a lot lower than the capacity of commercial reactors.
This means that SMRs can be expected to be cheaper, faster, and more reliable. Basically, it does everything that a commercial reactor doesn’t.
Why Is Google Switching to Nuclear Power?
AI systems and data centers require vast amounts of energy which traditional energy sources cannot adequately provide for. And even if they did, the pollution rising from such massive energy production would be disastrous for the planet.
Hence, nuclear energy. It’s clean, reliable, and can meet the increasing energy demands of the tech industry.
‘This deal will accelerate the commercialization of advanced nuclear energy by demonstrating the technical and market viability of a solution critical to decarbonizing power grids’ – Jeff Olson, Kairos executive
It’s not just Google. Overall, across many companies and industries, the use of nuclear energy is on the rise. For example, Microsoft is planning to draw power from Three Miles Island (a nuclear plant that was shut down after an accident is now being restarted).
Similarly, Amazon has also bought a new data center that is being powered by nuclear energy from the Susquehanna power plant. Any top tech leader you can think of, be it Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, or Sam Altman – they all have backed nuclear companies.
The reason for this sudden craze over nuclear power is simple – it’s reliable and it’s clean.
However, there are a few potential downsides. Nuclear power can be disastrous if not handled with care, as we have seen at Chornobyl and the Three Mile Island plant. One wrong moment and one misjudgment can have catastrophic consequences that can go on for generations.
Even if we assume that we won’t have a repeat of these nuclear disasters, the simple radioactive wastes produced during energy generation are just as harmful and have long-lasting effects.
