Latest news with #Elementl
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Google inks deal to develop 1.8 GW of advanced nuclear power
Google and nuclear site developer Elementl Power announced this week that they will work together on three sites for advanced nuclear reactors. The tech company has been rushing to lock up energy sources as its AI ambitions drive growing power demands at its data centers. This year alone, Google plans to spend $75 billion building data center capacity. With the new deal, Google is promising to add at least 600 megawatts of generating capacity at each of the three sites. Elementl said the reactors will be connected to the grid 'with the option for commercial off-take,' meaning that Google can buy power directly. Elementl has been operating stealthily until this announcement. The team has experience in the nuclear industry, though it hasn't developed any power plants yet. The company was started by Breakwater North and is backed by Energy Impact Partners. Elementl is taking a 'technology agnostic' approach, meaning that it hasn't decided on which small modular reactor (SMR) company it will work with to develop the projects. There are a number of possibilities, though Kairos Power is a likely frontrunner given its existing deal with Google. Kairos says its demo plant will generate 50 megawatts of electricity, with an eventual commercial plant producing 150 megawatts split between two reactors. There's no universally accepted definition, but SMRs tend to top out at 300 megawatts or so. By comparison, the most recently completed nuclear power plant in the U.S., Vogtle Unit 4 in Georgia, generates over 1.1 gigawatts of electricity, nearly four times the size of a large SMR. Silicon Valley has been smitten by SMRs. Startups have been rushing into the space, promising to slash reactor costs through mass manufacturing enabled by SMRs' smaller size. That, coupled with the promise of 24/7 power that could be sited close to data centers, has pushed them to sign a number of deals with SMR startups, including Oklo, X-Energy, and the aforementioned Kairos. Yet no SMR has been built outside of China. One startup, NuScale, has gotten close to building one, but it suffered a setback in 2023 when its utility partner canceled its contract after the estimated cost of the project more than doubled — even as the plans were downsized in an effort to contain costs. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Google inks deal to develop 1.8 GW of advanced nuclear power
Google and nuclear site developer Elementl Power announced this week that they will work together on three sites for advanced nuclear reactors. The tech company has been rushing to lock up energy sources as its AI ambitions drive growing power demands at its data centers. This year alone, Google plans to spend $75 billion building data center capacity. With the new deal, Google is promising to add at least 600 megawatts of generating capacity at each of the three sites. Elementl said the reactors will be connected to the grid 'with the option for commercial off-take,' meaning that Google can buy power directly. Elementl has been operating stealthily until this announcement. The team has experience in the nuclear industry, though it hasn't developed any power plants yet. The company was started by Breakwater North and is backed by Energy Impact Partners. Elementl is taking a 'technology agnostic' approach, meaning that it hasn't decided on which small modular reactor (SMR) company it will work with to develop the projects. There are a number of possibilities, though Kairos Power is a likely frontrunner given its existing deal with Google. Kairos says its demo plant will generate 50 megawatts of electricity, with an eventual commercial plant producing 150 megawatts split between two reactors. There's no universally accepted definition, but SMRs tend to top out at 300 megawatts or so. By comparison, the most recently completed nuclear power plant in the U.S., Vogtle Unit 4 in Georgia, generates over 1.1 gigawatts of electricity, nearly four times the size of a large SMR. Silicon Valley has been smitten by SMRs. Startups have been rushing into the space, promising to slash reactor costs through mass manufacturing enabled by SMRs' smaller size. That, coupled with the promise of 24/7 power that could be sited close to data centers, has pushed them to sign a number of deals with SMR startups, including Oklo, X-Energy, and the aforementioned Kairos. Yet no SMR has been built outside of China. One startup, NuScale, has gotten close to building one, but it suffered a setback in 2023 when its utility partner canceled its contract after the estimated cost of the project more than doubled — even as the plans were downsized in an effort to contain costs.
New York Post
07-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Google to back development of 3 nuclear sites to ‘move at speed required' for AI, American innovation
Google has agreed to fund the development of three nuclear sites with Elementl Power, the nuclear developer said on Wednesday. The tech company will commit development capital to advance the three projects, to be put toward site permitting, contract negotiations and other early-stage costs. Elementl Power did not disclose how much Google agreed to spend. Each site would generate at least 600 megawatts of power, and Google will have the option to buy the power once the projects are completed. Google has agreed to fund three new nuclear sites with Elementl Power. Daniel Prudek – The companies did not announce the planned locations for the new sites. 'Google is committed to catalyzing projects that strengthen the power grids where we operate, and advanced nuclear technology provides reliable, baseload, 24/7 energy,' Amanda Peterson Corio, Google's global head of data center energy, said in a statement. 'Our collaboration with Elementl Power enhances our ability to move at the speed required to meet this moment of AI and American innovation,' Peterson added. Elementl Power calls itself 'technology agnostic,' meaning it has not settled on a kind of reactor to use at its sites, and will wait to choose the most advanced version when it starts production. The company, which was founded in 2022, has not yet built any sites. Silicon Valley giants have been teaming up with nuclear developers to boost the energy supply for massive data centers that power artificial intelligence models. Google partnered with Kairos Power in October, for example, pledging to buy power from the firm's small modular reactors. At the time, Google said the first reactor is expected to enter service by 2030. Elementl Power CEO Chris Colbert said nuclear reactor deals with big tech firms 'are necessary to mobilize the capital required to build new nuclear projects, which are critical to deliver safe, affordable and clean baseload power and help companies advance their long-term net zero goals.' Google will have the option to buy the power from Elementl's new sites once the projects are completed. JOHN G MABANGLO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Elementl plans to raise capital from other sources when it comes time to actually build the projects. The company aims to add more than 10 gigawatts of nuclear power to the national grid by 2035. But doubts have surfaced as to whether these vast data centers are necessary to power advanced AI bots after China's DeepSeek in January launched a competitive model it claimed to make in a short amount of time at a low cost. Industry leaders Amazon and Nvidia last month said the construction of data centers is not slowing down and the need for power is still growing. 'We continue to see very strong demand, and we're looking both in the next couple years as well as long term and seeing the numbers only going up,' said Kevin Miller, Amazon's vice president of global data centers, at a conference last month.
CNBC
07-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Google agrees to fund the development of three new nuclear sites
People take photos in front of a giant Google logo at Google's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California on Aug 13, 2024 where the "Made by Google" media event was held today. Nuclear developer Elementl Power said Wednesday it's signed an agreement with Google to develop three sites for advanced reactors. It's the latest example of tech giants teaming up with the nuclear industry in an effort to meet the vast energy needs of data centers. Google will commit early-stage development capital to the three projects, although the exact terms of the deal remain private. Each site will generate at least 600 megawatts of power capacity, and Google will have the option to buy the power once the sites are up and running. The proposed locations remain private, but Elementl said Google's funding will be used for things like site permitting, securing interconnection rights to the transmission system, contract negotiations and other early-stage matters. "Google is committed to catalyzing projects that strengthen the power grids where we operate, and advanced nuclear technology provides reliable, baseload, 24/7 energy," said Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of data center energy at Google. "Our collaboration with Elementl Power enhances our ability to move at the speed required to meet this moment of AI and American innovation," she added. Elementl Power, which was founded in 2022 as a nuclear power project developer, hasn't yet built any sites. The company is currently technology agnostic, meaning it hasn't yet chosen what type of reactor it will use at its sites. Rather, when the company is ready to begin construction it will choose the reactor technology that's furthest along in development. "Innovative partnerships like this are necessary to mobilize the capital required to build new nuclear projects, which are critical to deliver safe, affordable and clean baseload power and help companies advance their long-term net zero goals," said Chris Colbert, Elementl Power's chairman and CEO. Colbert was previously CFO, COO and chief strategy officer at NuScale Power , which is developing small modular reactors. Colbert added that once the projects reach a final investment stage Elementl will raise capital from other sources – for example infrastructure funds – to actually build the projects. The company is aiming to add 10 gigawatts of nuclear to the grid by 2035. In October, Google teamed up with small modular reactor company Kairos Power, pledging to buy power from the company's fleet of reactors. At the time, Google said the first reactor would enter service by 2030, with more coming online through 2035. Earlier this year, China's AI startup DeepSeek prompted concerns that the improved efficiency of emerging AI models may reduce the need to invest in the build out new power sources to support data centers. However, tech leaders such as Amazon and Nvidia have since said the need for baseload power is continuing to grow at a quick pace. In April, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark estimated 50 gigawatts of new power capacity will be needed by 2027 to support AI. That is the equivalent of about 50 new nuclear plants.
