SAN FRANCISCO - Amazon announced significant investments in nuclear energy on Wednesday, joining other tech giants in aiming to meet the high electric power demands of artificial intelligence using atomic energy.
As companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google rapidly expand their global data center capabilities, they are actively seeking new electricity sources.
Amazon has signed three agreements to support the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are more compact and potentially easier to deploy than traditional reactors.
The technology is still in its infancy and lacks regulatory approval, however, raising doubts about implementation timelines.
"One of the fastest ways to address climate change is by transitioning our society to carbon-free energy sources, and nuclear energy is both carbon-free and able to scale -- which is why it's an important area of investment for Amazon," said Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services.
According to an Amazon spokeswoman, the contracts signed are worth over half a billion dollars.
Amazon's new partnerships include collaborating with Energy Northwest to develop four advanced SMRs in Washington state, potentially generating up to 960 megawatts of power by the early 2030s.
The company is also taking part in a $500-million funding round in X-energy, a leading SMR developer, to support more than five gigawatts of new nuclear-energy projects.
Additionally, Amazon is teaming up with Dominion Energy to explore an SMR project near Virginia's North Anna nuclear power station, aiming to add at least 300 MW of power to meet projected demand increases.