Amazon, Google, Microsoft and different large tech corporations are turning to nuclear energy to gas AI, which wants extra power because it grows extra advanced. Final month, Amazon invested $500 million in nuclear power, and Google signed its first nuclear energy deal. In September, Microsoft moved to reopen Three Mile Island, the three-mile nuclear plant close to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to energy its AI power wants.
Not all of Massive Tech’s nuclear efforts have gone easily: Earlier this month, Meta’s plans to open a nuclear energy plant have been halted when the corporate discovered a uncommon bee species subsequent to the plant. Meta additionally confronted regulatory challenges making an attempt to open the plant.
James Walker is the CEO of NANO Nuclear Power, the primary nuclear microreactor firm listed on NASDAQ. A microreactor is sufficiently small to be moved round by a truck, and it converts warmth from a nuclear response into electrical energy.
On the time of this writing, NANO’s market cap was round $700 million; it was based in 2022.
Associated: Google Follows Microsoft’s Lead With Nuclear Energy for AI
In an unique interview, Walker instructed Entrepreneur about the advantages and downsides of nuclear power and the toughest a part of constructing a nuclear startup. He additionally recognized areas the place new companies can thrive. Responses have been edited for size and readability.
Entrepreneur: What are the upsides and drawbacks of opening nuclear energy vegetation?
Walker: On the upside, it brings on-line a large, established supply of dependable, carbon-free energy — one thing that is important as power calls for soar.
The draw back is that older vegetation want important upgrades to satisfy trendy security requirements, which might be expensive and time-consuming.
Does nuclear power create a viable various to conventional strategies of powering AI?
Completely. AI-driven knowledge facilities want constant, high-output energy across the clock, and conventional renewables like photo voltaic and wind, whereas helpful, merely cannot present that alone.
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Nuclear power, notably with improvements like microreactors, gives a gentle, carbon-free power supply well-suited to AI’s calls for. It is an important piece of the puzzle if we wish to proceed pushing boundaries in AI with out working into energy limitations.
Why begin a nuclear power firm?
Fossil fuels have gotten us far, however we all know they’re neither sustainable nor environment friendly sufficient to assist the power calls for of tomorrow.
Nuclear power, particularly with advances in microreactor know-how, provides us a singular option to generate clear, constant energy that may be sited anyplace, which even provides it a giant benefit over all different renewables.
Are there any areas or industries the place you see issues that new companies can resolve?
One space ripe for innovation is power storage and the broader renewable sector. Battery know-how is advancing, however there’s nonetheless a lot potential for brand new companies to search out methods to retailer, distribute and effectively use renewable power.
One other large space is the logistics of gas transportation and nuclear supplies, particularly for protected and cost-effective dealing with.
Moreover, we’d like extra options for recycling and decreasing waste in power manufacturing — not simply nuclear, however throughout all sectors. There’s an enormous marketplace for new concepts that may preserve prices low whereas addressing environmental considerations head-on.