Google wants nuclear reactors to power its AI data centres

California: US technology giant Google said on Monday that it plans to purchase nuclear power in order to operate data centres.

Google announced an agreement with California-based Kairos Power to bring small modular reactors (SMR) online by 2030, with additional reactor deployments through 2035, the company said.

No financial details of the deal have been made available and it is still unclear whether Google wants to co-finance the construction of the power plants or just purchase electricity after completion.

With the announcement, Google becomes the latest tech company to turn to nuclear energy to cope with the high demand of electricity propelled by its development of artificial intelligence (AI).

"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," Google senior director of energy and climate said during a briefing.

"The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build out of these technologies."

Kairos says SMRs are safer

Other companies like Microsoft have already bet on nuclear energy. Three Mile Island, the site of America's worst nuclear accident, is expected to restart operations to provide energy to Microsoft.

Kairos Power said that the SMRs that it will provide for Google are cooled with molten fluoride salts instead of water. The company said that this design is deemed safer than conventional reactors because the coolant does not boil.

Although SMRs are seen as a pioneering new technology, backed by big investors such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the technology is still nascent and lacks regulatory approval.

Data centres raise Google's emissions
US tech companies have recently made commitments to climate-neutral operations.

In recent years, they have increasingly relied on renewable energy, but AI has challenged that model with its increasingly high demand for electricity.

"Overall, this deal will enable up to 500 MW of new 24/7 carbon-free power to US electricity grids and help more communities benefit from clean and affordable nuclear power," Google manager Michael Terrell said in a blog post.

In 2023, 64% of the energy used by Google's data centres and offices was CO2-free, but the company's CO2 emissions still rose by 13% within a year.

Data centres' energy consumption played a major role in Google's rising emissions.