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Elevate Magazine
October 17, 2024

Google Teams Up With Nuclear Company to Meet Energy Demands

google teams up with nuclear company to meet energy demands

Photo source: GoodFon

On Monday, Google announced a strategic agreement to acquire energy from Kairos Power, a company focused on developing small modular reactors (SMRs), to address the escalating power demands of data centres.

The company emphasised that engaging with multiple SMRs sends a demand signal to the energy market and represents a long-term investment to accelerate the commercialisation of nuclear technology.

“We believe that nuclear energy has a critical role to play in supporting our clean growth and helping to deliver on the progress of AI. The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build out of these technologies,” said Michael Terrell, senior director for Energy and Climate at Google.

Google did not reveal the financial specifics of this deal, but it is noteworthy that there are currently only three operational SMRs worldwide, with none situated in the United States. SMRs are anticipated to offer a more cost-effective approach for scaling nuclear power compared to traditional large-scale reactors, which have historically faced budget overruns and delays.

Google projects that the first reactor will be operational by 2030, with additional reactors expected to come online by 2035. Collectively, these reactors will contribute 500 megawatts to the grid.

Although this output is smaller than that of larger commercial reactors—such as Unit 4 at Plant Vogtle, which generates 1.1 gigawatts—there is considerable enthusiasm surrounding SMRs due to their potential for reduced costs and faster deployment.

This move also reflects an increasing partnership between technology companies and the nuclear sector. Data centres require continuous and reliable power sources, and nuclear energy currently stands as the only emissions-free baseload power option available.

Many major tech firms have set ambitious emissions-reduction targets, driving their interest in nuclear solutions.

For example, Constellation Energy is reviving Three Mile Island to provide power for Microsoft’s data centres. Similarly, Amazon has acquired a data centre powered by Talen Energy’s Susquehanna nuclear facility. Influential figures such as Bill Gates, Sam Altman, and Jeff Bezos have also shown support for nuclear initiatives.

Earlier this year, Google reported an almost 50% increase in emissions compared to 2019 levels, primarily due to rising energy consumption at its data centres.

Furthermore, Terrell expressed optimism about the future impact of these developments.

“It is an incredibly promising bet, and one that, you know, if we can get these projects to scale and then scale globally, will deliver enormous benefits to communities and power grids around the world,” he added.