Earlier this month, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google announced partnerships and investments in advanced nuclear reactor developers. Tech companies are new players in the nuclear innovation ecosystem and find investment in nuclear generation—both existing and future reactors—compelling because of its unparalleled ability to reliably generate large amounts of carbon-free electricity. However, the upfront capital investment required to build a first-of-a-kind reactor is substantial. Tech companies are now partnering directly with advanced reactor developers and with traditional industry players—such as utility companies—to advance new nuclear projects.
On October 16, AWS announced its participation in $500 million of Series C-1 financing for advanced reactor developer X-energy and several partnerships with utility companies to construct five gigawatts of new nuclear projects by 2039. That amount of generation capacity could power the city of Chicago for a year, with electricity to spare. AWS will also cooperate with Energy Northwest to construct a four-unit 320 megawatt plant in Washington, and it is partnering with Dominion Energy to explore advanced reactor development at North Anna Power Station in Virginia. Also on October 16, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $900 million solicitation for initial deployments of Generation III+ Small Modular Reactors, with a tier of funding available for teams of first movers. And finally, the same week Google announced a partnership with Kairos Power, another reactor developer, for 500 megawatts of power at “a series of advanced reactor sites . . . in relevant service territories to supply clean electricity to Google data centers, with the first deployment by 2030.” The investments announced by these tech companies could catalyze the next generation of domestic reactor deployments.
Tech companies have ravenous electricity appetites and require clean, consistent power at the highest levels of reliability.
One of the biggest challenges for advanced nuclear energy is the financing of new nuclear projects and, by extension, building an order book to sustain a US supply chain and workforce pipeline to construct new reactors on time and on budget. In the updated DOE’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear report, the authors emphasize that “a committed orderbook of 5-10 deployments of at least one reactor design is the first essential step for catalyzing commercial liftoff.” Data center providers and generative artificial intelligence companies are driving a surge in electricity demand that is only expected to increase. Tech companies have ravenous electricity appetites and require clean, consistent power at the highest levels of reliability for 24/7 operations of their servers and critical cooling equipment. Nuclear energy has attributes uniquely suited to meet these demands, and tech companies are new customers that could build the order book that is required for new reactors to be deployed. Advanced nuclear companies are designing reactors that are intended to be highly efficient and that could simplify construction using prefabricated, modularized components. The next generation of reactors—many of which range from five to three hundred megawatts—may be operated flexibly or in remote locations because their installed capacities are smaller.
But tech companies are not just interested in next generation technologies. Energy-intensive companies are also recognizing that the existing nuclear fleet offers an unparalleled source of stable, reliable, and clean electricity. As a result, companies across different sectors have chosen to site their facilities close to existing nuclear power plants. Companies require power today but recognize the potential for nuclear energy to meet medium- to long-term energy demands. And tech companies are investing substantial amounts of capital into data centers and clean energy procurement. For example, Microsoft signed a twenty-year agreement with Constellation to purchase power at an energy security premium. On September 20, Constellation Energy announced a twenty-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 in Pennsylvania. In Virginia, Green Energy Partners intends to build a data center campus adjacent to Dominion Energy’s Surry Nuclear Power Plant. Tech companies are leveraging the existing fleet of gigawatt-scale nuclear reactors to satisfy energy needs and advance their decarbonization goals. On May 29, at the White House Summit on Domestic Nuclear Deployment, Google, Microsoft, and Nucor announced memorandums of understanding with Duke Energy to enable investments in advanced nuclear energy in North Carolina through Accelerating Clean Energy tariffs.
The implications extend beyond energy-hungry data centers. The next generation of nuclear energy technologies under development—many of which have relatively smaller generation capacities than traditional reactors in operation—hold promise for on- and off-grid applications. Manufacturers, such as Nucor, are also investing in advanced reactors to generate carbon-free electricity and that could be used for desalination, hydrogen production, and process heat. In Texas, X-energy is constructing its first plant at Dow’s Seadrift Operations industrial site with support from the DOE Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Demonstrating technologies through such projects fosters confidence that advanced reactors can be deployed at other industrial facilities—chemical production, mines, or upstream oil and gas fields—or remote communities that want affordable, clean power access.
The recent announcements by Google and Amazon demonstrate a willingness to finance the development and deployment of advanced reactors for their own energy requirements and climate targets, at a scale that could rapidly drive down capital costs for future new builds and advance the clean energy transition nationwide. Partnerships can manage risk and surmount the financial barriers to deployment, bridging the gap between technological innovation and concrete deployments of advanced reactors to enable a bright future for nuclear energy for decades to come.
Jennifer T. Gordon is the director for the Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center.
Lauren Hughes serves as the deputy director of the Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center.
Note: Amazon Web Services, Constellation, and the Department of Energy are donors to the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. This article, which did not involve the donors, reflects the authors’ views.
Further reading
Sun, Aug 11, 2024
Japan’s economic revitalization requires nuclear energy
EnergySource
By
Lauren Hughes, Maia Sparkman
Japan’s economy is recovering, with government efforts to boost population growth and expand energy-intensive industries like AI and semiconductors. However, current energy policies may not meet rising demand. Restarting nuclear reactors under enhanced safety measures is key to Japan’s energy security and climate goals. To sustain growth, Japan must continue restarting its nuclear fleet and invest in next-generation reactors, addressing workforce and supply chain challenges.
Image: Dominion Virginia Power’s North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Virginia is pictured in this undated photograph obtained on August 23, 2011. REUTERS/Dominion Power/Handout