Remote computing (cloud) and artificial intelligence (AI) giants are increasingly turning to nuclear energy to meet part of their immense electricity needs.
In less than a month, Microsoft, Google and Amazon signed supply contracts in quick succession for a total capacity of 2.7 gigawatts, enough to power more than two million homes.
But this energy will be entirely dedicated to satisfying the growing consumption of these technological giants, mainly that of their data storage centers (“data centers”).
The emergence of the “cloud” requires millions of servers to store its customers’ data.
Already hungry for energy, they have gained an appetite with the development of so-called generative artificial intelligence, which requires colossal computing power to process information accumulated in gigantic databases.
According to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), data centers already absorb 4% of the electricity produced in the United States and are expected to increase to 9% by 2030.
Furthermore, the three big “cloud” players, who control around two-thirds of the market according to the specialized site Dgtl Infra, have set environmental objectives.
Amazon has promised to reach carbon neutrality in 2040, Google in 2030, by which time Microsoft aims to have a negative carbon footprint.
So far the trio has relied on renewable energy. Amazon was already the world’s largest buyer of electricity from solar and wind energy.
But “renewable energy alone is not enough because it is intermittent”, recently recalled Bill Gates, who has invested in nuclear energy.
“I don’t think tech companies have fallen in love with nuclear, but they want reliable, predictable, 24-hour energy,” says Jacopo Buongiorno, a professor of nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
– “Starting point” –
For its part, Microsoft has chosen the path of conventional nuclear power by reaching an agreement with the energy company Constellation to restart a reactor at the Three Mile Island power plant (Pennsylvania), the scene of a nuclear accident on another reactor in 1979 and closed in 2019 .
Google and Amazon have opted for small new generation reactors, SMRs (“small modular reactors”).
Amazon will also take a stake in the start-up X-energy.
Many of these young companies are working on their prototypes, but none are operational yet.
While the most optimistic count on operational SMRs in 2027, many prefer to mention commercial use by 2030.
The supply contracts stipulated with the big names in the “cloud” are “a very important starting point, because these prototypes will certainly not be competitive in terms of costs”, analyzes Jacopo Buongiorno.
“They need a customer willing to pay more for uninterrupted low-carbon electricity,” continues the academic.
The cost to develop an initial SMR is billions of dollars, although ultimately they should be less expensive than conventional nuclear power because they can be mass-produced, unlike traditional power plants.
By 2028, the bill for a megawatt-hour produced by a next-generation reactor will be more than double that of onshore solar or wind, according to a U.S. Department of Energy estimate.
For Jiacopo Buongiorno, SMRs are primarily intended, at least initially, to serve businesses (data centers or heavy industry) rather than American families.
“Earning money thanks to the (traditional) electricity grid is difficult, especially in liberalized markets,” which do not guarantee minimum prices to producers, he underlines.
This is the case of many American states such as California, New York, Florida and Texas, which are among the largest consumers in the United States.
“It’s a market,” he insists, “so the lowest price wins.”
On the other hand, Rob Bittencourt, from the investment firm Apollo Global Management, recently said that “Amazon, Meta, Microsoft or Google” do not think based on the initial cost of SMR electricity, but according to a long-term strategy “it can allow yourself to be patient.”