People take photos in front of the giant Google logo at Google’s Bayview campus in Mountain View, California, on August 13, 2024. A “Made by Google” media event was held today.
Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images
google The company announced Monday it will buy power from Kairos Power, a small modular reactor developer, as tech companies increasingly look to nuclear power as a way to meet growing energy demands from data centers.
The tech giant announced it will purchase power from a fleet of SMRs manufactured by Kairos Power. Google said the purchases from multiple SMRs would send “important demand signals to the market,” while also making long-term investments to accelerate commercialization.
“We believe nuclear energy plays a critical role in supporting clean growth and enabling advances in AI,” Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director of energy and climate, said in a call with reporters. ” he said. “The power grid needs clean, reliable energy sources that can support the construction of these technologies. We feel that will help us meet the demand.”It’s 24 hours a day. ”
The company did not disclose financial terms of the deal.
There are only three SMRs in operation in the world, and none in the United States. It is hoped that SMR will be a more cost-effective way to expand nuclear power generation. In the past, large commercial-scale nuclear reactor projects have gone over budget and behind schedule, and many hope SMR will not suffer the same fate. However, this is in some sense uncharted territory.
Kairos Power, supported by the Department of Energy, was founded in 2016. The company began construction of the power plant in July. Hermes low power demonstration reactor Located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Rather than using water as a reactor coolant, as is used in conventional nuclear reactors, Kairos Power uses molten fluoride salt.
Google said its first nuclear reactor would be operational by 2030 and more by 2035. In total, 500 megawatts will be added to the grid. That’s much smaller than a commercial reactor, but the Bogle plant’s Unit 4, which came online this year, is 1.1 gigawatts, for example. However, there is significant momentum behind SMR. Proponents cite lower costs, faster completion times and location flexibility as reasons.
Monday’s announcement is another example of a growing partnership between tech companies and nuclear power. Data centers require reliable power 24/7, and nuclear power is currently the only source of emissions-free baseload power. Many hyperscalers have ambitious emissions reduction targets, which is why they are turning to nuclear power.
constellation energy Power supply to Three Mile Island is being restored. microsoft data center, on the other hand Amazon purchased a data center from Talen Energy It is powered by the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant. Bill Gates, Sam Altman, and Jeff Bezos all support nuclear companies.
Google announced earlier this year that its emissions had increased by nearly 50% compared to 2019, due in part to increased power consumption in its data centers.
“This is an incredibly promising bet, and if we can scale up these projects and extend them globally, they will have huge benefits for communities and power grids around the world.” Terrell added.
