Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos

NEW YORK

Google has signed a deal to get electricity from small nuclear reactors to help power artificial intelligence.

The agreement to buy energy from reactors built by Kairos Power came just weeks after word that Three Mile Island, the site of America's worst nuclear accident, will restart operations to provide energy to Microsoft.

"We believe that nuclear energy has a critical role to play in supporting our clean growth and helping to deliver on the progress of AI," Google senior director of energy and climate said during a briefing.

"The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build out of these technologies."

No financial details were disclosed.

Tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are rapidly expanding their data center capabilities to meet the AI revolution's computing needs while also scouring the globe for sources of electricity.

The first of a series of small modular reactors (SMRs) developed by Kairos as a result of its deal with Google is projected to be online by the end of this decade, according to the companies.

Additional small reactors are expected to go online through 2035, generating a combined total of 500 megawatts of power.

SMRs are more compact and potentially easier to deploy, with big investments by Microsoft founder Bill Gates in the sector.

However, the technology is still in its infancy and lacks regulatory approval, leading companies to seek out existing nuclear power options.

Seen as a more consistent source of power than solar and wind, many tech companies are betting on nuclear energy's rapid development to meet AI's electricity demands.

Amazon's AWS agreed in March to invest $650 million in a data center campus powered by another Pennsylvania nuclear plant.