US technology giant Google announced on Monday that it plans to enter the nuclear energy business to power its data centers.
Google has signed an agreement with California-based Kairos Power to bring small modular reactors (SMRs) online by 2030, with additional reactors planned by 2035.
The financial details of the deal were not disclosed, and it remains unclear whether Google will co-finance the construction of the plants or simply purchase electricity once the reactors are operational.
With this move, Google becomes the latest tech company to turn to nuclear power to meet the rising demand for electricity driven by the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).
Google’s Senior Director of Energy and Climate said during a briefing, “We believe nuclear power will play a critical role in supporting our clean growth and advancing AI. The grid needs this kind of clean, reliable energy source to support the development of these technologies.”
Big Tech goes nuclear
Other tech companies, such as Microsoft, have already invested in nuclear power.
Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history, is expected to be reactivated to provide energy for Microsoft.
Kairos Power noted that the SMRs it will supply to Google are cooled by molten fluoride salts rather than water, a design the company claims is safer than conventional reactors since the coolant does not boil.
While SMRs are viewed as a game-changing technology, backed by prominent investors such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the technology is still in its early stages and lacks regulatory approval.
Data centers boost Google’s emissions
US tech companies have recently pledged to become carbon-neutral.
Although Big Tech has increasingly relied on renewable energy in recent years, the growing electricity demand from AI development has made it difficult to maintain this model.
“This agreement will add up to 500 MW of new 24/7 carbon-free power to US grids, helping more communities benefit from clean and affordable nuclear power,” Google executive Michael Terrell wrote in a blog post.
By 2023, 64% of the energy used by Google’s data centers and offices was carbon-free, but the company’s CO2 emissions still rose by 13% in one year.
Data center energy consumption remains a major contributor to Google’s rising emissions.
