Last year, TerraPower broke ground for the new Natrium nuclear plant in Wyoming. (Image Credit: TerraPower/YouTube)
Bill Gates' nuclear energy startup TerraPower is set to deploy advanced nuclear Natrium plants after signing a deal with Sabey Data Centers (SDC), a leading data center developer. Current and future plants will be powered by nuclear energy via small reactors. TerraPower broke ground on a demo project in Wyoming last year, with plans for it to become operational by 2030.
"At its heart, TerraPower is an innovation-driven company, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Sabey to address the surging energy demands of data centers with clean, reliable and adaptable solutions like the Natrium technology," said Chris Levesque, TerraPower President and CEO. "The energy sector is transforming at an unprecedented pace after decades of business as usual, and meaningful progress will require strategic collaboration across industries. Together, we can ensure advanced nuclear technology plays a vital role in securing a clean, resilient energy grid."
By 2030, power demand for AI and data centers is expected to increase by 323 terawatt hours. This is the first time that Natrium technology will be deployed in the US. It has a 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor that uses liquid sodium (coolant) for better heat transfer and higher temperature operations. It's also paired with a patented molten salt-based energy storage system that stores thermal energy as molten salt. When required, the storage unit releases that energy to increase the system's output to 500 MW. The storage system keeps the base output stabilized and ramps up during peak demand---ideal for meeting the power demands of data centers.
Additionally, the new Natrium nuclear reactors are more cost-effective than traditional types, making them more viable for tech companies that run data centers.
TerraPower and SDC signed a memorandum of understanding as part of a collaborative effort to potentially deploy nuclear power plants in Texas and the Rocky Mountain region to power data centers. However, the technology developed by TerraPower and other nuclear energy startups still needs to pass regulations and prove their commercial viability.
The Natrium reactor design is the only advanced design of its kind that has a pending construction permit for a commercial reactor from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Tech companies are exploring where to find energy to power AI data centers. So far, the companies have chosen to rely on nuclear energy, especially next-gen reactors like the ones being developed by TerraPower.
According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), power demand from data centers has skyrocketed over the past ten years. AI's growing popularity will expect demand to increase, which could restore decommissioned nuclear plants and extend the lives of fossil fuel power plants.
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