AI is about to go nuclear – so the UK needs to, too
As the artificial intelligence (AI) industry hurtles headlong towards what can only be described as nuclear-level growth, the UK needs a matching energy source to keep up.
But data centres, responsible for powering the floods of new generative AI models and applications, rely on vast, consistent energy supplies to keep their servers ticking.
According to Goldman Sachs, global energy consumption by data centres is expected to more than double by the end of the decade. By 2050, AI and data centres combined may use up to 4,500TWh of power, enough to fuel the entire US last year, according to a new study from energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
The green transition and power availability is a global challenge.
Burning fossil fuels seems a backwards response to such a modern problem and current renewable energy sources like wind and solar face obvious limitations in consistency. Power of the nuclear kind, though, is there all day, every day.
According to Dame Dawn Childs, chief executive of data centre developer Pure DC, nuclear energy provides a stable source of power, or “baseload”, that can support the energy grid.
“The green transition and power availability is a global challenge,” she told City PM. But a combination of nuclear power, which is virtually carbon free and can provide electricity 24/7, with renewable sources could create a more balanced and resilient grid, Childs explained.
Big Tech is already scrambling to acquire nuclear sites. Earlier this year, Microsoft struck a two-decade deal to draw power from Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island, a plant better known for the infamous 1979 accident.
In March, Amazon bought a nuclear-powered data centre from Talen Energy, and Google recently announced a partnership with nuclear startup Kairos Power, to bring a reactor online by 2030.
Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director for energy and climate, said the grid “needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances.”
And Childs suggested it is likely that the UK might see “more of these sorts of options coming up”.
UK dawdles on nuclear progress
When it comes to nuclear energy investment, however, the UK is still shuffling its feet.
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset was first approved in 2009, but the reactors have yet to see daylight – something the Labour government has promised to fix.
Similarly, Sizewell C on the Suffold Coast has been entangled in bureaucratic quagmires and funding obstacles, a painful reminder of Britain’s struggle to get major infrastructure projects across the finish line, from HS2 to Crossrail.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hasn’t held back, accusing the Conservative government of a “shambolic” handling of nuclear, and arguing that their failure to deliver has cost Britain energy security and thousands of jobs.
His own government has pledged to make nuclear central to the UK’s energy transition, including building Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) used for data centres.
To proponents of nuclear energy, it isn’t just a good fit – it’s the only solution, able to help the data centre industry transition to greener energy without compromising performance.
Increased energy demand from data centres has already reached a breaking point in some regions. In Ireland, for example, a moratorium on new data centres has been enacted due to energy constraints, something most industry leaders believe is unlikely in the UK but nevertheless is a troubling omen.
Unsurprisingly, the idea of ‘nuclear’ anything is not without contention. Critics argue that nuclear energy brings a new set of challenges, from radioactive waste to questions over long-term safety. Environmentalists warn of the possibility of trading one problem for another, exchanging carbon emissions for nuclear waste management.
It appears though that these fears are unlikely to deter such a lucrative industry and one that is so central to digital 21st century life. According to the AFCOM’s State of the Data Centre 2024 report, the percentage of data centre operators willing to consider nuclear has more than doubled in a year.
To shore up Britain’s AI industry, we need clean energy that doesn’t blink. Going nuclear might be our best shot at going head-to-head with Silicon Valley and China. The UK has to think – and build – bigger.