Folks take images in entrance of an enormous Google emblem at Google’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California on August 13, 2024, the place the ‘Made by Google’ media occasion was held in the present day.
Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Photographs
Google stated on Monday it’s going to purchase energy from small modular reactor developer Kairos Energy, as know-how corporations more and more flip to nuclear energy as a solution to meet rising energy calls for from information facilities.
The tech big stated it might purchase energy from a fleet of SMRs produced by Kairos Energy. Google stated shopping for from a number of SMRs sends an “essential sign to market demand” whereas making a long-term funding to speed up commercialization.
“We consider nuclear energy performs a essential position in supporting our clear progress and serving to advance AI,” Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director of power and local weather, stated on a name with reporters. “The grid wants these sorts of unpolluted, dependable sources of power that may assist the development of those applied sciences … We predict nuclear energy can play an essential position in serving to meet our demand and in serving to to cleanly meet demand us in a method that’s extra 24/7.”
The corporate didn’t disclose the monetary phrases of the deal.
There are solely three SMRs working on the earth, and none within the US. The hope is that SMRs are a more cost effective solution to scale up nuclear energy. Prior to now, giant commercial-scale nuclear reactor tasks have gone over finances and delayed, and lots of hope that SMRs won’t endure the identical destiny. However to some extent that is uncharted territory.
Kairos Energy, which is backed by the Division of Power, was based in 2016. In July, the corporate started building of its Hermes Low Power Demonstration Reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. As an alternative of utilizing water as a reactor coolant – as is utilized in conventional nuclear reactors – Kairos Energy makes use of molten fluoride salt.
Google stated the first reactor will be switched on by 2030with extra reactors working by 2035. A complete of 500 megawatts will likely be added to the grid. That is a lot smaller than industrial reactors — Unit 4 on the Vogtle plant, which came online this yearis 1.1 gigawatts, for instance – however there’s numerous momentum behind the SMR. Defenders level out lower costs, faster completion times and location flexibility.
Monday’s announcement is one other instance of the rising partnership between technology companies and nuclear power. Information facilities want dependable 24/7 energy, and nuclear energy is at present the one supply of emission-free baseload energy. Many hyperscalers have bold emission discount targets, which is why they’re turning to nuclear energy.
Constellation energy is restarting Three Mile Island to energy Microsoft information facilities whereas Amazon purchase information middle from Talk about energy that is it powered by the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant. Invoice Gates, Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos have backed nuclear corporations.
Earlier this yr, Google stated its feeds had grown nearly 50% in comparison with 2019, thanks partly to elevated information middle power consumption.
“It is an extremely promising wager, and one which, you already know, if we are able to get these tasks to scale after which scale them globally, it’ll have large advantages for communities and energy grids around the globe,” Terrell added.
