US technology giant Google announced on Monday that it plans to enter the nuclear energy business to power its data centers.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
Big Tech goes nuclear<\/strong><\/p>\n Other tech companies, such as Microsoft, have already invested in nuclear power.<\/p>\n Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history, is expected to be reactivated to provide energy for Microsoft.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Data centers boost Google\u2019s emissions<\/strong><\/p>\n US tech companies have recently pledged to become carbon-neutral.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n By 2023, 64% of the energy used by Google\u2019s data centers and offices was carbon-free, but the company’s CO2 emissions still rose by 13% in one year.<\/p>\n Data center energy consumption remains a major contributor to Google\u2019s rising emissions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[1877,2989,73,3119,3118],"class_list":["post-5684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america","tag-ai","tag-co-emissions","tag-google","tag-kairos-power","tag-nuclear-reactor"],"yoast_head":"\n