Why Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta are betting on nuclear power

Data centers powered by artificial intelligence and cloud computing are pushing energy demand and production to new limits. Global electricity use could grow by 75% by 2050, according to the US Department of Energy. AI’s ambitions causing much of the surge.

Data centers powering artificial intelligence and cloud computing may soon grow so large that they could use more electricity than entire cities.

As leaders in the AI ​​race push for further technological advancement and deployment, many are finding their energy needs increasingly at odds with their sustainability goals.

“A new data center that needs the same amount of power as, say, Chicago can’t just get out of trouble if it doesn’t understand its power needs,” said Mark Nelson, managing director of Radiant Energy Group. “These electricity needs. Stable, direct, 100% capacity, 24 hours a day, 365,” he added.

After years of focusing on renewable energy, major technology companies are now turning to nuclear power because of its ability to provide vast amounts of energy in a more efficient and sustainable way.

Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta are among the most prominent names involved in exploration or investment in nuclear power projects. Driven by the power consumption of their data centers and artificial intelligence models, their announcements mark the beginning of an industry-wide trend.

“We see nuclear power as having many benefits,” said Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director of energy and climate. “It’s a carbon-free source of electricity. It’s a source of electricity that can be always on and run all the time. And it provides a huge economic impact.”

After nuclear weapons were largely written off in the past because of widespread fears about meltdowns and safety risks — and misinformation that dramatized those concerns — experts are touting recent investments in the technology as the beginning of the “nuclear renaissance“, which can speed it up energy transformation in the US and around the world.

Watch the video above to learn why Big Tech is investing in nuclear power, what opposition they face and when their nuclear ambitions might become a reality.