Data Centre Giants Amazon, Google & Meta Back Nuclear Power

A coalition of nearly 200 companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta and Dow, has signed a pledge supporting the goal to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050.

This cross-industry group of large energy users has endorsed nuclear power as a solution to meet growing electricity demands, particularly for industries requiring constant power supply.

Sama Bilbao y Leon, Director General of the World Nuclear Association, says: “The unprecedented support announced today by some of the world's most influential companies to at least triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 sends a clear signal to accelerate policy, finance and regulatory changes that enable the rapid expansion of nuclear power.”

She adds: “The global shift towards more nuclear highlights this is the only way we'll deliver the abundant firm clean energy required to power growth and innovation in technology, a host of other industries and the entire economy.”

The news comes in the midst of the data centre industry facing significant change, particularly as the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts global electricity consumption to increase at nearly 4% annually, representing the fastest growth rate on record.

For many industries, including data centres, reliability is essential and current battery technology cannot adequately support the variable outputs from renewable sources such as wind and solar.

Big tech rallies to support nuclear power

In order to support a broad range of services and offerings, including AI, data centres require uninterrupted power alongside cooling and ventilation systems for computing equipment.

This is exactly why nuclear power has been touted as a more sustainable solution for operators, as it has the ability to provide constant low-carbon energy. This makes it suitable for the 24/7 power requirements of data centres.

Already, leading tech giants Google, Amazon and others have invested in nuclear power in order to expand their operations in a way they deem more energy efficient.

The timing of this coalition pledge comes as electricity consumption rises globally, with data centres representing one of the fastest-growing segments of energy usage.

With this in mind, industry experts note that nuclear power stations can operate continuously for months without interruption, providing the baseload power that data centre operators require for service level agreements.

Lucia Tian, Head of Clean Energy & Decarbonisation Technologies at Google, says: “We are proud to sign a pledge in support of tripling nuclear capacity by 2050, as nuclear power will be pivotal in building a reliable, secure and sustainable energy future.

“Google will continue to work alongside our partners to accelerate the commercialisation of advanced nuclear technologies that can provide the around-the-clock clean energy necessary to meet growing electricity demand around the world.”

Urvi Parekh, Head of Global Energy at Meta, adds: “As global economies expand, the need for a reliable, clean and resilient energy supply is paramount. Nuclear energy, with its ability to provide continuous power, can help meet this rising demand.

“We're excited to join alongside this multi-organisational effort with the Tripling Nuclear Pledge to reiterate our commitment to nuclear energy.”

Brandon Oyer, Head of Americas Energy and Water at Amazon Web Services, shares: “Accelerating nuclear energy development will be critical to strengthening our nation's security, meeting future energy demands and addressing climate change.

“Amazon supports the World Nuclear Association's pledge, and is proud to have invested more than US$1bn over the last year in nuclear energy projects and technologies, which is part of our broader Climate Pledge commitment to be net zero carbon by 2040.”

Backing nuclear energy expansion

Expanding the capabilities of nuclear power beyond data centres could also benefit other essential industries, including manufacturing and industrial sectors.

These essential sectors require stable power sources as global economies continue to expand - which is particularly the case as energy requirements expand to support powerful equipment like quantum computing chips.

“Energy is the lifeblood of global manufacturing and therefore investing and expanding access to clean, reliable, cost-competitive nuclear energy is critical to industrial progress,” explains Edward Stones, Business Vice President for Dow Energy & Climate.

“Dow considers nuclear energy, especially the promising technology of advanced small modular nuclear, to be a long-term competitive source of safe, firm and clean energy.”

The coalition has also been announced amid concerns about grid stability in regions where data centre growth has accelerated, which inevitably creates additional pressure on existing energy infrastructure.

This is why advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs), are gaining attention for their potential to provide localised power generation for industrial campuses and data centre clusters.

The pledge by these world-leading organisations perhaps signals that governmental policy changes may be necessary to enable faster development of nuclear projects.

Laurent Odeh, Chief Commercial Officer at Urenco, says: “It will be a lot harder to address environmental concerns while facilitating economic development in the world without the reliable, 24/7 baseload power nuclear energy provides.

“This support from large energy users is another sign for governments to enable new nuclear projects so we can accelerate construction and meet the energy needs of both industry and the public.”

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