Google has signed a deal to purchase power from small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) to meet the increasing energy demands of its artificial intelligence (AI) systems. This marks the world's first corporate agreement to buy power from multiple SMRs.
The tech giant partnered with Kairos Power to bring the first SMR online by 2030, with more reactors planned by 2035. Google will purchase a total of 500 megawatts of power from six to seven reactors, which are smaller compared to traditional nuclear plants. Financial details and reactor locations remain undisclosed.
"We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand ... cleanly in a way that's more around the clock," said Michael Terrell, Google's senior director for energy and climate. This move aims to ensure reliable, clean energy for Google's AI infrastructure, which requires a steady power supply to support increasing workloads.
The power demand among tech companies is surging, largely due to the rapid expansion of AI technologies. Google is not alone in turning to nuclear power to address these needs. Earlier this year, Amazon acquired a nuclear-powered data center from Talen Energy, and Microsoft signed a deal with Constellation Energy to help revive a reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.
According to a report by Reuters, Goldman Sachs estimates that US data center power consumption will triple between 2023 and 2030, requiring approximately 47 gigawatts of new generation capacity. Traditionally, natural gas, wind, and solar have been the primary sources to fill this gap, but companies like Google are now exploring SMRs as a reliable alternative.
Small modular reactors are designed to be smaller, more flexible, and potentially more cost-effective than traditional reactors. Unlike conventional nuclear plants, SMRs are built with components manufactured in factories rather than on-site, which can reduce construction costs and timelines. However, critics argue that SMRs may still be expensive due to limited economies of scale and will generate long-lasting nuclear waste, which remains an unresolved issue without a permanent disposal solution.
How Kairos Power's technology works
Kairos Power's technology uses a special cooling system with molten salt, along with ceramic pebble fuel, to transfer heat to a steam turbine, which then generates power. The system is designed to be safe and works at low pressure, which makes the reactor simpler and cheaper to build.
Kairos Power is taking a step-by-step approach, testing its technology with several hardware demonstrations before building its first commercial reactor. This will help them learn and make improvements, speeding up reactor deployments and providing more cost certainty for Google and other customers.
Kairos Power has already made progress towards building its first power-producing reactor. This summer, the company began construction on its Hermes demonstration reactor in Tennessee, which is the first advanced reactor project in the U.S. to get a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Google's partnership with Kairos Power takes a unique approach. Instead of purchasing one reactor at a time, Google has committed to an "order book framework," signaling long-term support for the SMR technology. "We're confident that this novel approach is going to improve the prospects of our projects being delivered on cost and on schedule," said Mike Laufer, CEO and co-founder of Kairos Power.