Amazon to join Microsoft and Google in going nuclear on artificial intelligence

Following Microsoft’s initial news, Amazon has followed Google in saying ‘Wait, we can do that?‘ and announced that it is investing in nuclear power “to address growing energy demands“. The announcement follows on the heels of several from the company, including several new Kindle models. Will we see a nuclear-powered Kindle at some point? Probably not. But nuclear AI? That’s far more likely.

Like Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced that it will implement Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in its business. Also like Google, the company isn’t developing the tech for this itself. Instead, it has signed several agreements that will, eventually, bring more nuclear power online in the US.

Nuke the Amazon

Three different energy providers are involved in Amazon’s plans — Energy Northwest, X-Energy, and Dominion Energy. The first of these, Energy Northwest, is initially expected to provide the company with 320MW of power via several SMR nuclear generation units. Eventually, the project will generate 960MW of power in total.

X-Energy is expected to eventually account for up for 5GW of power but the company is more involved in developing the reactors (and supplying the fuel for them) rather than acting as a utility. Dominion Energy will provide at least 300MW of power by adding an SMR to its existing nuclear facility in Virginia.

AWS CEO Matt Garman said, “Nuclear is a safe source of carbon-free energy that can help power our operations and meet the growing demands of our customers, while helping us progress toward our Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040.”

Amazon has previously signed a deal to create a data centre near a Pennsylvania nuclear energy facility with the express purpose of using the plant’s output to drive the company’s operation. This new investment will see similar initiatives spring up, hopefully staving off a looming energy crisis while powering Amazon’s artificial intelligence ambitions. AI is a power-hungry technology. We can expect more companies to go nuclear shortly, if recent weeks are any indication.