Miniature nuclear reactors could be the answer to sustainable datacenter growth

vtqhtr413 · Jan 2, 2023

Datacenters use a lot of power and despite our best efforts, a big chunk of that still comes from burning fossil fuels. But what if instead of relying on local utilities for power, these facilities generated their own – maybe using a relatively itty-bitty nuclear reactor? In a recent report, Omdia analysts Alan Howard and Vladimir Galabov made the case that using small modular reactors (SMRs) to power large datacenters might not be as crazy as it sounds. As the name suggests, SMRs are essentially just miniaturized reactors. Instead of a massive facility producing gigawatts or more of power, SMRs are designed to produce just a fraction of that. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that depending on the SMR in question, the reactors can produce anywhere from tens to hundreds of megawatts of electrical output. These reactors are by no means a new concept. In fact, they've been powering US Navy vessels for the better part of a century without incident. The first was the USS Nautilus in 1955. Since then, nuclear power has been a mainstay of US Navy propulsion, and today, the US operates a fleet of 83 nuclear-powered ships.