Sustainable Future

Technology giants are turning to nuclear energy to power the energy-intensive data centers needed to train and run the massive artificial intelligence models behind today's generative AI applications.

Microsoft and Google are among the firms agreeing deals to purchase nuclear power from certain suppliers in the U.S. to bring additional energy capacity online for its data centers.

This week, Google said it would purchase power from Kairos Power, a developer of small modular reactors, to help "deliver on the progress of AI."

"The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build out of these technologies," Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, said on a call with reporters Monday.

"We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand, and helping meet our demand cleanly, in a way that's more around the clock."

Google said its first nuclear reactor from Kairos Power would be online by 2030, with more reactors going live through 2035.

The tech giant isn't the only firm looking to nuclear power to realize its AI ambitions. Last month, Microsoft signed a deal with U.S. energy firm Constellation to resurrect a defunct reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, whose reactor has been dormant for five years.

The Three Mile Island plant was the location of the most serious nuclear meltdown and radiation leak in U.S. history in March 1979, when the loss of water coolant through a faulty valve caused a reactor to overheat.

Tech companies are under pressure to find energy sources to power data centers — a key piece of infrastructure behind modern-day cloud computing and AI applications.

Many developers rent out servers