Google will back the construction of seven small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) from Kairos Power, becoming the first tech company to commission new nuclear power plants to provide low-carbon electricity for its energy-hungry data centres.
Google and Kairos said on Monday (14 October) that under the terms of the deal, the first of its kind, Google committed to buying power generated by seven reactors to be built by Kairos Power, a seven-year-old California-based startup.
The agreement targets adding 500 MW of nuclear power starting at the end of the decade, the companies said. The first reactor could be online by 2030 and additional reactors by 2035.
Google said that buying power from multiple SMRs sends an “important demand signal to the market”, while making a long-term investment to accelerate commercialisation.