Google Turns To Nuclear Energy To Power Its AI Drive

Tech giant Google just entered into a mighty partnership with a leading startup company called Kairos Power. The goal is to use nuclear energy to power the firm’s AI drive.

Google confirmed the news today where it added how it plans to design several nuclear reactors in the US to bring this goal to life. Furthermore, the company revealed how it would include 500MW of nuclear power from small modular reactors by the end of 2030.

Clearly, the plan is ambitious, but the way things are going so far, it does seem like a very high probability that Google will attain success. As the search engine giant says, the first would come into power by 2030 but subsequent ones will come by 2035.

This is the first-ever corporate deal to purchase nuclear power from small module reactors. These are obviously tiny in size when compared to standard ones. The parts are usually designed inside factories instead of being assembled on-site. This assists in bringing construction costs to a new low when compared to full-scale entities.

However, it’s not a very simple deal that can spring into action all of a sudden. Kairos will first require assistance and approval from the American Nuclear Regulatory Commission for design approval. After that, the green signal for construction is required for the plan to move ahead.

So far, the startup got approval and its target date is the year 2027. The firm is already busy designing test units without using nuclear fuel at one of its facilities in NM. Here is where all the parts get assessed including the system and supply chain.

The company failed to reveal the financial aspect of the deal, but according to Google, the deal’s structure will help bring costs down and get energy online sooner. Google says that getting power from several reactors can speed up reactor deployments, which are required to bring costs down and reach the market quickly.

Google’s head for energy and climate sees this approach as the most fruitful one for assisting individuals and the community and building on past efforts. The AI boom means the power demand is at an all-time high, which is why so many tech giants are working towards this goal.

We’ve already witnessed software giant Microsoft forge agreements with companies like Constellation Energy to bring units back online. Furthermore, Amazon purchased a nuclear-powered data center from Talen Energy at the time, too.

Image: DIW-AIgen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World