Google is turning to nuclear power to help power its AI drive. On Monday, the company said it would partner with startup Kairos Power to build seven small reactors in the US. The deal aims to add 500 megawatts of nuclear power from small modular reactors (SMRs) by the end of the decade. The first is expected to be operational again in 2030, and the other in 2035.
The first ever business deal to buy nuclear power from SMRs. Small modular reactors are smaller than existing reactors. Their components are built inside the factory instead of on site, which can help reduce construction costs compared to full plants.
Kairos will need the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve design and construction permits for these systems. The startup has already received approval for a demonstration reactor in Tennessee, with an online date targeted for 2027. The company already builds test units (except for nuclear power components) at a development site in Albuquerque, NM, where it tests components, systems and its supply chain.
The companies did not disclose financial details of the plan. Google says the structure of the deal will help keep costs down and get online power faster.
“By purchasing power from multiple reactors – what experts call an ‘order book’ of reactors – we will help accelerate the repeated reactor deployments needed to reduce costs and bring Kairos Power’s technology to market faster,” Michael Terrell, executive director of -Google energy and climate, he wrote in a blog post. “This is an important part of our way to measure the benefits of advanced technologies for people and communities, and builds on our previous efforts.”
The AI boom – and the huge amount of data center power required – has led to several deals between Big Tech companies and the nuclear industry. In September, Microsoft struck a deal with Constellation Energy to bring the Three Mile Island plant unit in Pennsylvania back online. In March, Amazon bought a nuclear-powered data center from Talen Energy.
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