The rise of artificial intelligence has a large part to play: AI technology is powered by data centres and the electricity consumption a medium-sized data centre is equivalent to that of 100,000 households. According to the International Energy Agency, data centres demand increased by more than three quarters between 2023 and 2024 and is expected to account for over 20 per cent of electricity‑demand growth in advanced economies by 2030.
In the United States, where many of the leading AI businesses are based, the power consumption of AI-driven data processing is predicted to exceed the combined electricity consumption of aluminium, steel, cement and chemical production put together by the end of the decade.
In December of last year, policymakers, technology companies and nuclear industry leaders from around the world gathered at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna to explore the opportunities for nuclear power to enable the expansion of AI and, conversely, how AI could drive innovation in the nuclear industry.
Training cutting-edge AI models requires tens of thousands of central processing units (CPUs) to run continuously for weeks or even months. At the same time, the daily application of artificial intelligence is expanding to almost all sectors such as hospitals, public administration, transportation, agriculture, logistics and education.
Every query, every simulation, every recommendation consumes power. “We need clean, stable zero-carbon electricity that is available around the clock,” says Manuel Greisinger, a senior manager at Google, focusing on AI. “This is undoubtedly an extremely high threshold, and it is not achievable with wind and solar power alone. AI is the engine of the future, but an engine without fuel is almost useless. Nuclear energy is not only an option, but also an indispensable core component of the future energy structure.”
Mr. Greisinger’s view is shared by IAEA Director General Manuel Grossi, who believes that the nuclear industry is destined to be the energy partner of the AI revolution. “Only nuclear energy can meet the five needs of low-carbon power generation, round-the-clock reliability, ultra-high power density, grid stability and true scalability,” he declared.
The nuclear industry appears to be in bullish mood. Seventy-one new reactors are under construction, adding to the 441 that are currently operating globally. Ten are scheduled to be built in the US, which is already home to 94 plants, the largest amount of any country.
The tech giants that are using the data centres have pledged to support the goal of at least tripling global nuclear power capacity by 2050. Microsoft, for example, has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement that allowed Unit One of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, USA, to be restarted.
Source: UN News
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