Amazon and Google have signed new deals to support construction of next-generation small modular nuclear reactors that can be deployed relatively quickly and in more locations than conventional nuclear plants.

• Amazon signed a deal with Energy Northwest, in Washington state, for four reactors that will bring 320 megawatts of power online starting in the early 2030s. Amazon is also investing in X-energy, which develops the systems that will be used in those plants.
• Google signed a deal with Kairos Power to add 500 megawatts of “carbon-free energy” available around the clock to the U.S. electricity grid starting in 2030. Kairos is commercializing an advanced nuclear reactor that uses molten salt, rather than water, for cooling.

Nuclear strategies

Google, Amazon and Microsoft have all targeted nuclear power as a key component of their strategies to cut emissions associated with rapidly growing data centers to support artificial intelligence. In September, Microsoft signed a deal to bring a retired reactor at Three Mile Island back online.

Earlier, Amazon said it will pay $650 million to take over a data center campus in Pennsylvania that is directly powered by one of the largest U.S. nuclear plants.

Nuclear power accounts for about 20 percent of the U.S. electricity mix. The DoE estimates there will be up to 200 gigawatts of advanced nuclear power online by 2050.