Big Tech is increasingly turning towards nuclear energy to meet the ever-increasing power demands of their data centers, with Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang recently indicating that nuclear power could be a viable option to power the company's energy needs. This news comes after Microsoft's recent deal to reactivate the Three Mile Island nuclear facility to power its data centers in the area.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Huang said that Nvidia could be interested in nuclear power as part of its broader strategy to diversify the energy sources that power its data centers.
"Nuclear is wonderful as one of the sources of energy, one of the sources of sustainable energy. It won't be the only one. We're going to need energy from all sources and balance the availability and the cost of energy as well as the sustainability over time."
The idea of powering data centers with nuclear energy has become a trend within Big Tech as companies such as Nvidia, Microsoft, and even Amazon and Google are doubling down on the expansion of their data centers to support their AI initiatives and also, at the same time, look for options to reduce greenhouse emissions.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data center electricity consumption is expected to almost double by 2026 to something between 650TWh and 1,050TWh, compared to 460TWh in 2022. Which is why, in the long run, it is crucial to find cleaner and green alternatives to fossil fuels.
Huang spoke about the various challenges to building these new "AI factories", referring to the data centers designed to support the intensive demands of AI. Building these factories has significant energy constraints, which is why they're often built far from population centers.
Huang also mentioned Nvidia's commitment to navigating U.S. government restrictions regarding exports to China.
“The first thing we have to do is comply with whatever policies and regulations that are being imposed, and, meanwhile, do the best we can to compete in the markets that we serve.”
Huang also noted that while Nvidia's latest generation chips are even more power-hungry (requiring over a kilowatt each), they offer greater efficiency by performing tasks faster and replacing multiple older components. This could prove beneficial in the longer run and would allow Nvidia to shift most of its power demands to the sustainable side.
Source: Bloomberg (paywall) | Cover Photo via DepositPhotos.com
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