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After a slate of nuclear energy deals late last year, Big Tech is throwing more support behind efforts to boost nuclear capacity around the world.
Google (GOOGL+1.93%), Meta (META+2.35%), and Amazon (AMZN+1.07%) signed a pledge on Tuesday to triple nuclear energy capacity worldwide by 2050 during CERAWeek, an annual energy conference in Houston, Texas.
Major tech companies are showing strong interest in nuclear energy and other alternative sources as the artificial intelligence boom creates a massive demand for energy. In July, Google said its carbon emissions have risen by 48% since 2019, mostly due to energy consumption by data centers and supply chain emissions. The company’s carbon emissions were up 13% year over year in 2023, according to its 2024 Environmental Report — putting the company at risk of missing its climate goals.
“We are proud to sign a pledge in support of tripling nuclear capacity by 2050, as nuclear power will be pivotal in building a reliable, secure, and sustainable energy future,” Lucia Tian, head of clean energy and decarbonization technologies at Google, said in a statement about signing the pledge.
Urvi Parekh, head of global energy at Meta, said in a statement that growing global economies mean “the need for a reliable, clean, and resilient energy supply is paramount.”
“Nuclear energy, with its ability to provide continuous power, can help meet this rising demand,” Parekh said.
“Accelerating nuclear energy development will be critical to strengthening our nation’s security, meeting future energy demands, and addressing climate change,” Brandon Oyer, head of Americas energy and water for Amazon Web Services, said in a statement.
The three companies had been making moves to increase nuclear energy before the pledge. In December, Meta requested proposals from nuclear energy developers in the U.S. to provide one to four gigawatts of new nuclear generation capacity starting in the next decade.
In October, Amazon announced that it had signed three agreements to develop nuclear energy projects. The agreements include building “several” small modular reactors (SMRs), which have “a smaller physical footprint, allowing them to be built closer to the grid,” Amazon said. Compared with traditional reactors, SMRs can be put online faster because construction takes less time.
Google also announced in October that it had signed “the world’s first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy” from SMRs developed by California-based Kairos Power. The company said it expects to bring Kairos Power’s first SMR online by the end of the decade.