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

Note: Here is page 2, featuring earlier updates.

Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers: May 2024 Updates

Multiple updates...

• Japan Nuclear Energy Policy: Japan had big plans for nuclear power before the 2011 tsunami, Bloomberg reported. Now a debate over restarting Japan's biggest nuclear facility will test if it can turn away from costly imported fuels, the report said.
• Nuclear Power Expansion?: Constellation Energy Corp., the biggest nuclear power operator in the United States, is exploring the possibility of constructing new nuclear capacity at its existing reactor sites to meet the growing demand from data center customers, Carbon Credits reported.

Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers: April 2024 Updates

Multiple updates...

• United States Nuclear Power Reactors: A month after the U.S. offered $1.5 billion to restart one shuttered nuclear power plant, there’s a growing sense among officials in the industry and government that it may not be the last, Bloomberg reported.
• Partnership: Terrestrial Energy and Schneider Electric have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly develop technologies for nuclear-powered data centers and industrial facilities. The nuclear technology involves small, modular, repeatable designs.
• OpenAI Founder Funds Energy Startup: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Katherine Boyle, and multiple venture capital firms are funding Exowatt, a renewable energy startup that wants to offer cost-effective power for generative AI applications and data centers.
• M&A - Consulting: Private equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners has acquired Strategic Management Solutions, LLC (SMSI), a provider of expert management and technical consulting services for federal and large industrial clients focused on nuclear programs and projects, the buyer said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bernhard Capital previously acquired Boston Government Services (BGS) and Sterling Engineering & Consulting Group (SE&C) as part of a push to build a Department of Energy services platform.
• Europe - Nuclear Under Pressure: Surging renewables and a slump in power prices are undermining operations of nuclear power plants -- which are still the cornerstone of electricity grids in several parts of the continent, Bloomberg reported.
• Japan Energy Policy: Japan will need new nuclear power plants to meet its 2050 net zero goal, according to nation’s main electricity utilities, Bloomberg reported.

Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers: March 2024 Updates

Multiple updates...

• Startup Talent: Oklo, the nuclear microreactor power startup backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman, is seeking a director of data center solutions.
• Global Nuclear Power: Thirty-four nations, including the United States, China, France, Britain and Saudi Arabia, committed "to work to fully unlock the potential of nuclear energy," The Associated Press reported.
• Europe - Nuclear Power Limitations?: Leaders from pro-nuclear European countries and energy experts are set to call for a nuclear energy revival on March 21, 2024 at a summit in Brussels, seeking to rebuild the European industry after years of gradual decline, Reuters reported. However, Europe's nuclear power revival plans are too little, too late, according to a Bloomberg report. Despite growing interest in nuclear power for data centers, the energy source will represent less than 1% of Europe's power mix by 2050, the report predicted.
• Partnership - Technology And Energy Transition: Google, Microsoft and Nucor are partnering to "develop new business models and aggregate their demand for advanced clean electricity technologies." Key focus areas include advanced nuclear, next-generation geothermal, clean hydrogen, long-duration energy storage (LDES) and others, the companies said. Nucor is a steelmaker and positions itself as the largest recycler in America.
• France vs. European Union: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire criticized the European Commission’s approach toward climate targets, saying the European Union’s executive arm focuses too much on renewable energy while overlooking other technologies like nuclear power in the fight against global warming, Bloomberg reported.
• AWS M&A: AWS acquired a nuclear powered, carbon-free data center campus from Talen Energy Corp. for $650 million. But the agreement to directly sell power to the AWS data center from the nuclear plant already faces opposition from utilities American Electric Power and Exelon, who have filed complaints at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), CNBC noted.

Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers: February 2024 Updates

Multiple updates...

• United States - Virginia Data Centers: Green Energy Partners plans to build a nuclear-powered data center campus in Surry, Virginia, in a major push for sustainable energy solutions, BNN Breaking reported. The project, valued at $6.45 billion, is expected to create up to 3,000 jobs and house 19 data centers powered by small modular nuclear reactors.
• United States - Nuclear Project Delayed: Southern Co. expects its long-delayed Vogtle nuclear project in Georgia to be pushed back again, Bloomberg reported. The delay reinforces questions about the United States' ability to harness nuclear power as part of a broader energy transition.

Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers: January 2024 Updates

Multiple updates...

• Microsoft Hires Nuclear Energy Talent: Microsoft has hired Erin Henderson as director of nuclear development acceleration. Also, the company hired Archana “Archie” Manoharan as its director of nuclear technologies. The hires involve Microsoft's continued transition to sustainable energy.
• Startup Layoffs: NuScale Power layoffs involved roughly 28% of staff at the modular nuclear reactor company, NuScale disclosed. The staff cuts arrived at a key time for both NuScale and the broader energy market -- where the United States is racing to compete against Russia and China on multiple nuclear and energy transition fronts.
• Utility Layoffs: Despite layoffs at Duke Energy, the utility is "investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear."
• South Africa Energy Infrastructure: South Africa’s updated energy blueprint envisions more than 100 gigawatts of new generation capacity being built by 2050, and proposes that a variety of technologies and fuels be considered to produce that power -- including solar, wind, nuclear and coal, Bloomberg reported.
• United Kingdom - Nuclear Power Slump: Power output from the UK’s nuclear power plants slumped to the lowest in more than four decades in 2023, potentially increasing a reliance on fossil fuels that will make it more difficult to reach the nation’s net zero emissions target, Bloomberg reported.

Note: Continue to page 3 for earlier updates involving nuclear power for AI data centers.