People take photos in front of the giant Google logo at Google’s Bayview campus in Mountain View, California, during today’s “Made by Google” media event on August 13, 2024.
Josh Adelson | AFP | Getty Images
Google It said on Monday it would buy power from Kairos Power, a developer of small modular reactors, as technology companies increasingly turn to nuclear power to meet the growing energy needs of data centers.
The tech giant said it will buy power from the following companies Small and medium-sized reactor fleet Manufactured by Kairos Power. Google said sourcing from multiple SMRs sends an “important demand signal” to the market while making long-term investments to accelerate commercialization.
“We believe nuclear energy plays a critical role in supporting our clean growth and helping drive advances in artificial intelligence,” Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director of energy and climate, said in a phone interview with reporters. “The grid needs these clean, reliable energy to support the construction of these technologies. … We see nuclear energy playing an important role in helping meet our needs and, to some extent, help meet our needs more cleanly and around the clock.”
The company did not disclose financial terms of the deal.
There are only three small and medium-sized reactors operating in the world and none in the United States. Large commercial-scale nuclear reactor projects have gone over budget and behind schedule in the past, and many hope that small and medium-sized reactors will not suffer the same fate. But this is somewhat uncharted territory.
Kairos Power was established in 2016 with support from the Department of Energy. Hermes Low Power Demonstration Reactor In Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Kairos Power uses molten fluoride salts instead of water as the reactor coolant like traditional nuclear reactors.
Google says The first reactor will come online in 2030more reactors will be put into use by 2035. This is much smaller than the commercial reactor – Unit 4 at the Vogtel plant, Online this yearFor example, the power is 1.1 gigawatts, but there is huge momentum behind SMR. advocates point out Lower costs, faster completion times and location flexibility as a reason.
Monday’s announcement is another example of the growing partnership Technology companies and nuclear power. Data centers require 24/7 reliable power, and nuclear energy is currently the only source of zero-emission baseload power. Many hyperscalers have ambitious emissions reduction targets, which is why they are turning to nuclear power.
Constellation Energy yes Restarting Three Mile Island Power on Microsoft data center, at the same time Amazon Purchased a data center conversation energy that is Powered by the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant. Bill Gates, Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos all support nuclear companies.
Earlier this year, Google said its emissions were increasing nearly 50% This is partly due to increased data center power consumption compared to 2019.
Terrell added: “This is an incredibly promising bet, and if we can scale these projects and then scale them globally, it will bring huge benefits to communities and grids around the world. .
