Industry experts discuss nuclear’s role in powering data centers, meeting climate goals

As a primer to the American Nuclear Society Winter Conference and Expo, ANS Executive Director/Chief Executive Craig Piercy hosted a panel discussion titled "The State of Nuclear," sponsored by the ANS Trustees of Nuclear. The October 29 discussion, the first in a two-part series, featured five thought leaders from the nuclear community as they reviewed the current state of nuclear power. The second panel took place during the ANS Winter Conference in Orlando, Fla., on November 18.

The focus of the series was on the growing demand for electricity, especially as data centers and advanced AI tools require more power than ever before. From addressing community concerns to adapting diverse technological solutions, the experts agreed that the energy landscape will need innovative and resilient nuclear infrastructure to keep up with the evolving energy needs.

Rising demand: As digital services expand and AI systems grow, energy demand is skyrocketing. Amy Roma, a partner at Hogan Lovells, began by discussing the overwhelming electricity requirements of new data centers, which consume significantly more power than previous generations of digital infrastructure. "What seems like a simple AI search takes 10 times the amount of energy of a traditional Google search," she explained, pointing out that some centers have power needs rivaling those of entire cities. Addressing this demand, she added, will require dedicated partnerships between data centers, utility companies, and advanced energy suppliers.

Seth Grae, CEO of Lightbridge, emphasized that these centers cannot simply "hook up" to existing electricity grids. Instead, they must coordinate with utility providers and power plant vendors to ensure consistent power delivery. Grae also noted that around 40 percent of the energy consumed by data centers goes to cooling, presenting opportunities for technological advances in hardware and software that may one day reduce these cooling costs.

Concerns and challenges: The challenge isn't just about meeting energy demand; it's also about addressing where and how this infrastructure will be built. Joyce Connery, chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, pointed out that communities often have mixed feelings about large-scale energy developments, particularly in sensitive areas. "Until we get to the costs to a place that the shareholders and the stakeholders are of one common cause, I think we're still going to struggle," she said, highlighting the importance of considering cost, local security, and stakeholder relations.

Piercy echoed these concerns, noting that nuclear developers must be careful about partnerships, as data centers are not always welcomed by the communities in which they operate. "Are we going to be the handmaidens of our new AI overlords?" Piercy joked, reflecting both the excitement and the caution that the industry holds toward tech-powered data center projects.

Standardize? Toward the end of the panel, Piercy posed a thought-provoking question: Why not standardize nuclear projects across the U.S., similar to France's 1970s approach, and build a uniform fleet of nuclear reactors? Amy Roma responded that the U.S. economic system and its free-market focus make it difficult to impose a one-size-fits-all solution. "We're a capitalist democracy where people are picking the technologies that they want," Roma explained. While government incentives like the $900 million set aside for Gen III reactors encourage investment, decisions ultimately rest with private industries based on their specific needs."

Roma cited Dow's interest in high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) as an example. These reactors provide both carbon-free electricity and process heat, making them especially valuable for industrial applications. "It's not always just about electricity; different industries have unique energy needs that a single technology might not meet," she said.

Diverse applications: Bradley Williams, vice president at X-energy, supported Roma's point, noting that various nuclear technologies could better serve different applications. For instance, microreactors might be suitable for remote locations that currently rely on diesel generators, while larger reactors would be more practical in densely populated regions.

Williams argued that the U.S. needs a "catalog of options" to accommodate its diverse energy landscape. This flexibility could allow for everything from large-scale light water reactors to smaller, specialized reactors that fit unique industrial needs, offering the clean, reliable energy that both data centers and other industrial sectors require.

Closing remarks: As the discussion drew to a close, Piercy reiterated the growing importance of nuclear energy in addressing the U.S.'s long-term energy needs, including the Biden administration's midcentury climate goals. Patrick White, vice president of Holtec International, noted that even if the energy demand from data centers stabilizes, other sectors will need the firm, clean energy that nuclear can provide. "We're going to need hundreds of gigawatts of energy, even if it's not for data centers," he said.

The panel concluded with Piercy inviting attendees to continue the conversation at the winter conference in Orlando in November. "After the election, we'll have a clearer crystal ball about the next four years," Piercy said, encouraging participants to join them in exploring the future of nuclear energy, technology, and climate policy.

The recording of the online event is available to all users at ans.org/webinars.