Google inks deal with nuclear company as data center power demand surges

Google said Monday that it will purchase power from small modular reactor developer Kairos Power, as tech companies increasingly turn to nuclear power as a way to fulfill the growing energy demands from data centers.

The tech giant said it will purchase power from a fleet of SMRs made by Kairos Power. Google said purchasing from multiple SMRs sends an “important demand signal to the market,” while at the same time making a long-term investment to accelerate commercialization.

“We believe that nuclear energy has a critical role to play in supporting our clean growth and helping to deliver on the progress of AI,” Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, said on a call with reporters. “The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build out of these technologies. … 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.”

The company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

There are only three SMRs that are operating in the world, and none in the U.S. The hope is that SMRs are a more cost-effective way to scale up nuclear power. In the past, large, commercial-scale nuclear reactor projects have run over budget and behind schedule, and many hope SMRs won’t suffer that same fate. But it is uncharted territory to some extent.

Kairos Power, which is backed by the Department of Energy, was founded in 2016. In July, the company began construction on its Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Rather than use water as the reactor coolant – as is used in traditional nuclear reactors – Kairos Power uses molten fluoride salt. 

Google said the first reactor will be online by 2030, with more reactors going live through 2035. In total, 500 megawatts will be added to the grid. That’s much smaller than commercial reactors — Unit 4 at Plant Vogtle, which came online this year, is 1.1 gigawatts, for example — but there’s a lot of momentum behind SMRs. Advocates point to lower costs, faster completion times, as well as location flexibility as reasons.

Monday’s announcement is another example of the growing partnership between tech companies and nuclear power. Data centers need 24/7 reliable power, and right now nuclear is the only source of emissions-free baseload power. Many hyperscalers have ambitious emissions-reduction targets, which is why they’re turning to nuclear power.

Constellation Energy is restarting Three Mile Island to power Microsoft data centers, while Amazon bought a data center from Talen Energy that’s powered by the Susquehanna nuclear power plant. Bill Gates, Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos have all backed nuclear companies.

Earlier this year, Google said its emissions have grown nearly 50% relative to 2019 thanks in part to an increase in data center power consumption. 

“It is an incredibly promising bet, and one that, you know, if we can get these projects to scale and then scale globally, will deliver enormous benefits to communities and power grids around the world,” Terrell added.