It’s been an exciting week for the nuclear small modular reactor (SMR) business and the foremost data center hyperscalers. Let’s take a look at Google and Amazon’s latest announcements toward their pursuit of clean energy for purposes of net zero, carbon-free cloud and AI infrastructure expansion.
Google and Kairos Power
First, Google and Kairos Power have announced an agreement to eventually build up to seven SMRs providing up to 500 MW of power, with the first unit to come online in 2030, and the project to be completed by 2035.
As Google’s Senior Director of Energy and Climate, Michael Terrell said in his blog post, “To accelerate the clean energy transition across the U.S., we’re signing the world’s first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMR) to be developed by Kairos Power.”
Terrell added, “This agreement is a key part of our effort to commercialize and scale the advanced energy technologies we need to reach our net zero and 24/7 carbon-free energy goals and ensure that more communities benefit from clean and affordable power in the future.”
According to Kairos, a Master Plant Development Agreement was signed with Google which will lead to the deployment of multiple power generation systems, starting with an iterative demonstration strategy for their technology, leading up to the first commercial deployment in 2030.
Under the contract, Kairos Power will develop, construct, and operate a series of advanced reactor plants and sell energy, ancillary services, and environmental attributes to Google under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). Plants will be sited in relevant service territories to supply clean electricity to Google data centers.
Mike Laufer, Kairos Power’s CEO and co-founder, said of this strategy, “Our partnership with Google will enable Kairos Power to quickly advance down the learning curve as we drive toward cost and schedule certainty for our commercial product. By coming alongside in the development phase, Google is more than just a customer. They are a partner who deeply understands our innovative approach and the potential it can deliver.”
Jeff Olson, Kairos Power Vice President, Business Development & Finance pointed out that the agreement for multiple deployments over a fixed time period is a major step towards the commercialization of advanced nuclear reactors, and, of course, Kairos Power’s technology solution.
“Having an agreement for multiple deployments is important to accelerate the commercialization of advanced nuclear energy by demonstrating the technical and market viability of a solution critical to decarbonizing power grids while delivering much-needed energy generation and capacity,” said Olson. “This early commitment from Google provides a strong customer demand signal, which reinforces Kairos Power’s continued investment in our iterative development approach and commercial production scale-up.”
The Kairos Power Hermes test reactor is being built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on the site of the former K-33 Gaseous Diffusion plant, part of the famous Oak Ridge development site. The location was selected for its proximity to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), who are both active in the development of advanced nuclear reactor programs. The test reactor is expected to be completed by 2027.
