Energy requirements for AI

Google wants nuclear power from mini reactors

A Google data center in Finland

(Bild: AP)

In view of its increasing energy requirements as a result of AI development, the internet company Google wants to obtain nuclear power from smaller reactors in future. On Monday, the tech company signed a contract with the Californian start-up Kairos, which manufactures these reactors.

AI applications are fed with immense amounts of data, which causes the power requirements in the companies' data centers to skyrocket. Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon are currently looking for power sources worldwide.

Nuclear energy will play "a critical role in supporting our clean growth" and in the further development of artificial intelligence applications, said the head of Google's energy and climate department, Michael Terrell.

Companies such as Kairos are focusing on smaller, so-called modular reactors (SMRs), which are said to offer advantages in terms of cost and safety. According to the company, the first SMRs developed by Kairos should be connected to the grid by the end of the decade.

Approval pending
Small reactors are more compact and potentially easier to install. However, the technology is still in its infancy and has not yet been approved by the authorities, which means that companies are currently switching to existing nuclear power plants.

For example, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the US state of Pennsylvania, which was shut down five years ago, is to be put back into operation to cover Microsoft's electricity requirements. Reactor unit 1 at the plant, which was the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history in 1979, is being restarted.