You know that electricity demand from artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency is soaring. Big tech companies looking to integrate AI into their systems need to build massive data centers to train and operate the AI. The surge in new demand for electricity has created problems for America’s aging grid, depleted by reductions in coal-fired generation. The solution many tech companies are zeroing in on to produce clean power in the amounts necessary to serve AI computing is small nuclear reactors. Emily Conover of Science News explains:
To fuel the insatiable energy appetite of artificial intelligence, tech companies are going big on small nuclear reactors.
Last week, both Google and Amazon announced agreements with companies that are developing small modular reactors. These reactors would produce less power than current reactors, and many designs include different types of fuel or coolants, plus additional safety features.
The announcements have amplified the buzz around small modular reactors, which have attracted increasing attention in recent years, given the need for clean energy that won’t contribute to climate change. A variety of companies have sprung up to meet the need, producing a cornucopia of proposed designs for small modular reactors.
“If you combine the need for resilient power with the need for clean power and the emerging availability of these designs, you get a great upswing in interest,” says nuclear engineer Kathryn Huff of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has been supporting the development of small modular reactors, further feeding interest.
Action Line: Your Survival Guy will be watching the developments in AI and nuclear power with keen interest. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
Read more about data centers and nuclear power solutions here:
