Nvidia joins Bill Gates to finance nuclear reactors for data centers

Nvidia decided to invest in nuclear energy. The chip giant, through the bottom NVentureshe entered the co -financer of Terrapower, a company founded by Bill Gates, on a $ 650 million round alongside Korean HD Hyundai.

The focus of the startup is to develop Modular nuclear reactors of state -of -the -art (SMRS)focused on ensuring stable energy supply for large operations – such as artificial intelligence date centers.

The construction of the first Natrium reactor of Terrapower has already begun in Wyomingin the United States, with commercial operation forecast by 2030. The project is part of Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, an initiative of the US Energy Department to enable new clean and reliable energy sources.

What is the Natrium reactor?

Developed with its own technology, the reactor Use liquid sodium as a cooling agent and can reach 345 megawatts of capacity. The thermal surplus generated can be stored in molten saltallowing the supply of up to 1 gigawatt of energy at peak times, something strategic to meet the typical data centers load variations.

Despite the beginning of the works, the project awaits Approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Committee (NRC) to start the nuclear phase of construction. The expectation is that this release will only occur in 2026.

The future of AI depends on both energy and algorithms. Having access to clean, stable and scalable energy is the new challenge for high performance computing

Jensen HuangNVIDIA CEO

Energy Race between Big Techs

The movement of NVIDIA It is not isolated. Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are already in an advanced phase of their own energy structuring and nuclear energy has become one of the main bets.

Oracle, for example, received authorization to install Three Modular Reactors with combined capacity of 1 gigawatt. Google has signed an agreement with Kairos Power to use seven SMRs in its operations, and Microsoft wants to reactivate Three Mile Island’s historic reactor. Amazon has chosen to diversify: it is investing in three companies in the energy sector, two of them focused on nuclear solutions.

The movement is fed by the growing energy demand for AI models. It is estimated that Zettastascale supercomputers can consume until half gigawattthe energy equivalent of 375,000 homes.

Other projects in progress

In addition to Terrapower, Kairos Power has also started works from an experimental reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Called Hermes, the project does not generate electricitybut allows you to validate the safety of the cooled cooled reactor.

Another relevant name is the Westinghousetraditional in the nuclear sector, which develops the evincia micro-reactor capable of operating for eight years without refueling. Compact, the system can be carried by truck and implanted almost instantaneously in remote or strategic locations.

Why now?

The energy bottleneck turned The main threat to the expansion of the AI ​​on a large scale. Mark Zuckerberg recently stated that, after normalization of GPUS supply, it is access to energy the new Growth Limite of Artificial Intelligence.

In addition, the instability of the conventional power grid and the high energy costs in densely populated regions boost autonomous solutions, especially among companies that lead digital transformation.

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Way by 2030

Although the interest of Big Techs accelerates development, nuclear projects still bump into complex regulatory processes and long maturation deadlines. Terrapower’s own reactor should only start power generation at the beginning of the next decade after years of testing and certifications.

Still, the scenario is set up: with billionaire investments from companies as NVIDIA Oracle and Amazon, nuclear energy enters the center of the digital infrastructure. And this can transform not only the data centers, but the entire global energy matrix.

Fonte: The Register