An overlooked environmental threat has been looming over the world, as people and organizations show more affinity toward electrifying things. Although the world is moving towards giving prime importance to electronic vehicles and other objects with an aim to reduce the exploitation of fossil fuels, over-electrification can also lead to an overload of power grids and increased power demand from across the globe. Apart from electrification, CO2 and other emissions from data centers have spiked up with the rapid release of carbon into the environment. Studies revealed that numerous harmful gases in these emissions can destroy the protective layer of the earth by emitting planet-warming greenhouse gases. As these studies and discussions have gained prominence, the recent trend suggests that people are moving toward nuclear energy with zero carbon emissions. The most recent and giant names working for this initiative are reported to be Amazon and Google.
Reports denote that these tech giants have announced their plan to invest huge amounts for funding X-energy, a US-based Xe-100 small modular reactor (SMR) developing company to go nuclear. According to these reports, Kairos Power will collaborate with Google to install 500MW SMRs for Google search centers. The agreement between Google and Kairos Power suggests that the project will be finished by 2035.
The announcements of Amazon taking its steps to invest in SMRs came out soon after Google. The world has positively responded to both the tech giants seeking carbon-free electricity to meet their demands for data centers and artificial intelligence. Experts and researchers share that this is a great initiative for the environment as well as their data centers. Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director of Energy and Climate notes that this initiative will accelerate the transition to clean energy. Moreover, he also mentioned that this movement is also an effort to commercialize energy technologies at large scale with carbon-free energy goals.
However, neither Amazon nor Google have disclosed their investments and the involvement of AI in this project. X-energy’s statement said that Amazon leads the $500m funding with other investors like Citadel founder Ken Griffin, Ares Management Corporation, NGP a private equity firm, and the University of Michigan. However, the details of the funding have not been disclosed yet. Similar is the case of Google.
The world has witnessed twice the increase in greenhouse gas emissions due to large since 2019. Experts opinion suggest that the major reason for this rapid rise is the high demand by data centers. Even though solar energy has been the most reliable source for them, the challenge of carbon emissions has emerged as a matter of concern. This concern and the commitment to the environment have made tech companies think of an alternative.
Amazon shares that this made them think of smart solutions that will meet their growing demands and environmental crises. They believe that X-energy will have an integral role in helping them achieve their goal. These statements also confirm that Amazon is on a mission to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. With Amazon and Google getting into this mission, other companies and organizations have also shown interest in moving toward nuclear plants and SMRs. Furthermore, the manufacturers are planning for mass production of these SMRs intending to safeguard nature and create economic opportunities for others.
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