Google has entered into an agreement to utilize small nuclear reactors for the substantial energy requirements of its artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
The agreement with Kairos Power indicates Google’s plan to initiate the use of the first reactor within this decade and to deploy additional units by 2035.
Details regarding the financial terms of the agreement or the locations of the future plants were not disclosed by the firms.
Tech companies are progressively adopting nuclear energy to power the extensive data centers that operate AI.
Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director for energy and climate, stated, “The grid requires new sources of electricity to sustain AI technologies.”
He further explained, “This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone.”
The deal with Google “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,” said Kairos executive Jeff Olson.
The project is still pending approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and local authorities before moving forward.
Last year, US regulators issued the first permit in half a century to Kairos Power, based in California, to construct a novel type of nuclear reactor. Kairos Power began building a pilot reactor in Tennessee in July.
The company focuses on creating smaller reactors that employ molten fluoride salt for cooling, unlike the traditional nuclear plants that use water.
As nuclear power offers nearly zero carbon emissions and provides continuous electricity, it is becoming a favored option for the tech sector striving to reduce emissions while increasing energy use.
According to Goldman Sachs, a leading investment bank, global energy use by data centers is predicted to more than double by the end of the decade.
John Moore, Industry Editor for TechTarget, said AI data centers demand substantial electricity for operation and cooling due to the heat generated by specialized hardware.
“These data centers are equipped with specialized hardware that requires lots of power and generates lots of heat.”
Last year, during a UN Climate Change Conference, the US joined other nations in a commitment to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050, aiming to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
However, some critics argue that nuclear energy, while reducing carbon emissions, poses risks and generates persistent radioactive waste.
Recently, Microsoft signed an agreement to reactivate the Three Mile Island energy plant, the site of the worst nuclear incident in the US in 1979.
In March, Amazon announced its acquisition of a nuclear-powered data center in Pennsylvania.
“Google’s partnership with Kairos Power signals another major step in tech’s embrace of nuclear energy,” stated Somnath Kansabanik from Rystad Energy.