Will Nuclear Energy Power AI Data Centers? Timeline of Developments, Proponents and Safety Discussions

Nuclear energy is emerging as a possible solution to power AI data centers without generating carbon emissions. But business strategies, government policies and consumer opinions about safety vary from country to country.

The central issue facing data center providers and cloud-scale companies is easily explained:

• On average, a generative AI query involving ChatGPT needs nearly 10 times as much electricity to process compared to a Google search, Goldman Sachs asserts.
• As AI application demand and associated AI workloads surge, data center power demand will grow 160% by 2030 compared to 2023 or so, Goldman Sachs added.
• The largest grid operator in the United States, PJM Interconnection, in July 2024 warned that power supply and demand is tightening as construction of new generation lags demand, CNBC noted.
• Meanwhile, the United States is racing to compete against Russia and China on multiple nuclear and energy transition fronts.

Amid that backdrop, numerous parties -- including venture capitalists, private equity firms, energy companies and technology businesses -- are pushing nuclear energy and SMRs (small modular reactors) as a power source for data centers. But some critics express SMR and nuclear energy safety concerns, while other critics worry about safely storing nuclear waste for decades to come.

Check this blog regularly for status updates tracking the latest nuclear reactor and power projects in the data center and IT services sector, associated government policy updates, and the debate about nuclear energy safety.

Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers: March 2025 News and Updates

• U.S. Power Plant: The U.S. Department of Energy announced a second loan disbursement to restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, The Detroit Free Press reported.
• Expanding Nuclear Capacity: Major companies -- including Amazon, Google and Meta -- signed a pledge to at least triple nuclear capacity by 2050, according to the World Nuclear Association.
• Partnership - European Data Centers: Data4 is exploring ways to leverage small modular reactors (SMRs) from Westinghouse to power future data centers in Europe, the two companies said.
• Funding - Small Modular Reactors: Steady Energy, a Finnish developer of small modular reactor (SMR) solutions, has raised €22 million in funding and start building a pilot plant in the second half of 2025, the company said. Key investors include 92 Ventures and Lifeline Ventures.
• Open Source - Nuclear Fusion Technology: A German startup called Proxima Fusion has published open source plans for a commercial nuclear-fusion plant, The Wall Street Journal reported. Scientists tout\ the plans as an important breakthrough for sustainable energy, the report said.
• Partnership - Small Modular Reactors: Siemens Energy and Rolls-Royce SMR are partnering to drive Small Modular Reactors (SMR) forward. Under this agreement, Siemens Energy will be the exclusive supplier of steam turbines, generators, and other auxiliary systems for Rolls-Royce's planned Generation 3+ modular nuclear power plants. The final contract, detailing all specifics, is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, the companies said.

Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers: February 2025 News and Updates

• United States - Trump Nuclear Policy: U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright continues to tout nuclear energy as a potential power source for AI data centers, the Associated Press reported. Multiple U.S. states are partnering with data center companies, seeking to ease nuclear regulations, and exploring ways to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs).
• United States - Michigan Nuclear Project: A closed nuclear plant on the shores of Lake Michigan is aiming to construct the first small modular reactor in the U.S. by 2030, CNBC reported. The owner of the Palisades nuclear plant, Holtec International, signed a strategic agreement with Hyundai Engineering and Construction to build a 10-gigawatt fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs) in North America, starting with two units at the Palisades site, the report said.
• South Korea - Nuclear Energy Plans: South Korea finalized a new energy mix plan that envisages the construction of two new large-scale nuclear power plants and one small nuclear power reactor by 2038, Reuters reported.
• United States - Arizona Nuclear Energy: Arizona legislation is striving to accelerate permits for small modular reactors (SMRs) co-located with data centers.
• United States - Texas Nuclear Power Projects: Natura Resources announced two advanced nuclear projects in Texas. The planned Small Modular Reactor (SMR) deployments, located in the Permian Basin and at Texas A&M University's RELLIS Campus, represent "significant strides in addressing Texas' energy and water needs."
• Nuclear Mandate?: "New nuclear technology is a global decarbonization solution and a commercial shipping disruptor. There is no net zero by 2050 without nuclear," according to ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki.
• Venture Capital: Hitachi has launched a $400 million fund. Target investments include disruptive startups that focus on data centers, distributed energy systems, future of work and industrial AI, as well as startups in new frontiers including bio, quantum, nuclear fusion, life science, space and adjacent technologies, the company said.
• United States - Tennessee Nuclear Policy: Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has proposed spending nearly $100 million on nuclear energy investments in his state budget; $50 million would go toward building a potential SMR along the Clinch River in Oak Ridge, according to WKRN.
• United Kingdom - Nuclear Energy: X-Energy wants Britain to provide clarity on financial and regulatory support before building nuclear power plants in the country, The Times reported. Without such clarity, X-Energy may consider shifting its focus to alternative countries, the report said. Key X-Energy investors include Amazon.
• International Partnership - Small Modular Reactors (SMRs): India and France plan to work together on developing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), the Saudi Gazette reported.
• U.S. Department of Energy - R&D Priorities: The department's R&D efforts will "prioritize affordable, reliable, and secure energy technologies, including fossil fuels, advanced nuclear, geothermal, and hydropower," according to an order from U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. The order did not mention solar or wind power.
• Startup Funding - Small Modular Reactors: X-Energy Reactor Company has raised $700 million in Series C-1 funding. Among the key long-term nuclear energy priorities: Amazon and X-energy are collaborating to bring more than five gigawatts of new power projects online across the U.S. by 2039, the companies said. Key X-Energy investors include Segra Capital Management, Jane Street, Ares Management funds, Emerson Collective, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, an affiliate of Citadel Founder and CEO Ken Griffin, affiliates of Ares Management Corporation, NGP, and the University of Michigan.
• United Kingdom - Easing Nuclear Regulations: The UK is set ease the rules around where nuclear power plants can be built in a bid to revitalize the struggling sector, Bloomberg reported.
• Italy - Small Modular Reactors: Westinghouse proposed using decommissioned nuclear sites in Italy for the installation of SMRs, with the aim to start construction by 2030, Reuters reported.
• United States Secretary of Energy: Chris Wright was confirmed as Secretary of Energy, putting the founder of an oil and gas fracking services company in charge of an agency that will play a key role in President Donald Trump’s plans for a sweeping overhaul of US energy policy, Bloomberg reported. Wright reassured Democrats that he also supports renewable energy sources -- such as solar, wind, goethermal and hydropower, the report noted. He's also a nuclear advocate who will strive to ease regulations and speed up nuclear energy rollouts.

Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers: January 2025 News and Updates

• Executive Leadership - Microsoft Energy Strategy: Microsoft has shifted Erin Henderson from head of its nuclear development acceleration to director of energy infrastructure.
• DeepSeek - Energy Consumption Question Marks: At first glance, DeepSeek may be more energy efficient than OpenAI and Anthropic. But here's the twist: The energy DeepSeek saves in training "is offset by its more intensive techniques for answering questions, and by the long answers they produce," MIT Technology Review reports. In other words, DeepSeek might not be such good news for energy efficiency after all, the MIT publication said. And that may mean that DeepSeek applications will require lots of AI chips from Nvidia (or rival hardware providers) to process user queries, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.
• Bill Gates Investment: TerraPower, a nuclear startup backed by Bill Gates, has signed a collaboration agreement with Sabey Data Centers (SDC) that calls on SDC to leverage TerraPower's energy in "current and future data center operations.”
• Indiana: Several bills that would make Indiana residents pay some of the cost of building small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) are working their way through the Indiana Statehouse. But a Senate bill that passed committee, known as SB 423, would "allow the tech companies driving the need for these plants to share that cost," Indiana Public Radio reported.
• Small Modular Reactors (SMRs): Duke Energy is participating in a multi-joint public-private application for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) U.S. Gen III+ SMR technology grant. Moreover, Duke Energy is investing in "activities to advance the standard design and licensing for GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 SMR technology."
• Partnership - Data Center Energy Supplies: Oklo and RPower are partnering to promote natural gas generators and nuclear power for data centers, the two companies said.
• M&A - Nuclear Technology: Nano Nuclear Energy is spending $8 million to acquire the major assets of the bankrupt Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp., a midsize startup that develops microreactors, Politico reported.
• M&A - Nuclear Services: BWX Technologies is acquiring nuclear industry service provider Kinectrics for $525 million. Kinectrics provides lifecycle management services for the global nuclear power and transmission and distribution markets.
• United States - Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Lawsuits: In a lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, along with developer Last Energy, said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s rules governing small modular reactors, or SMRs, are holding back their broader deployment, Politico reported. SMRs may help to power AI data centers, proponents assert.

Note: Continue to next page for earlier updates involving nuclear power for AI data centers.