With data centers consuming record electricity, SMRs or small modular reactors are emerging as a possible clean-power solution.
Global electricity consumption from data center s is accelerating far faster than previously projected, raising new questions about how the world will power the next wave of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Electricity use from data centers in 2024 is estimated at around 415 terawatt-hours, roughly 1.5% of global consumption, and has grown by 12% annually over the past five years. Analysts expect the pace to intensify, with consumption projected to rise by about 15% per year through 2030. This is more than four times the overall electricity demand in all other sectors. In the United States, where technology companies are proposing larger, more energy-intensive AI data centers, the search for stable, carbon-free power sources has increasingly turned to nuclear energy. Industry discussions now include not only traditional large reactors and potential restarts of inactive plants, but also new federally supported projects and emerging reactor designs still years away from commercial readiness. Among the technologies attracting attention are small modular reactors, or SMRs. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, more than 80 SMR designs and concepts are currently in development worldwide. Most remain in early stages, although several are described as near-term deployable. Supporters argue they offer consistent power without the carbon emissions associated with fossil fuels and can be sited closer to the facilities that need the energy, lowering reliance on long-distance transmission. Demonstration units may begin construction before 2030, with potential commercial operation in the mid-2030s. However, the U.S. Department of Energy has not yet established a long-term plan for managing the radioactive waste these reactors would produce.How SMRs workLeonel Lagos, an engineer and nuclear-industry researcher, notes in his article for The Conversation that SMRs occupy a middle space between large conventional reactors and smaller microreactors. Traditional nuclear plants generate more than 1,000 megawatts of electricity and sit on large sites with reactor cores roughly 10 meters tall. Microreactors, at the other end of the spectrum, can fit into a semitruck trailer, generate under 20 megawatts, and operate on land the size of a football field.SMRs fall between these two extremes. Their reactor cores measure about 3 meters across and 6 meters tall, and a complete installation typically occupies roughly 50 acres. They can produce up to 300 megawatts of electricity. Because of their scale, SMRs can be manufactured in factories, transported by truck, rail, or ship, and assembled on-site. They generate heat by splitting heavy atoms, transferring that heat through materials such as water, liquid metal, or molten salt to create steam that drives turbines.Developers incorporate passive safety features that shut down reactions using fundamental physical principles, such as gravity, limiting the likelihood or severity of accidents involving radioactive releases. SMRs also contain less nuclear material and generate less heat than conventional reactors, reducing their overall risk profile.Deployment challenges and what’s aheadSMRs are being designed for regions without large power grids, remote industrial operations, desalination facilities, and countries beginning to adopt nuclear power. They could be constructed and put into service in two to three years, far faster than traditional nuclear projects.Yet several challenges remain unresolved. Regulators must determine staffing requirements, update safety rules, and address new forms of waste that may arise from reactors using alternative coolants. Dr Lagos notes that transporting radioactive materials also requires new protocols. While high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel, containing 5% to 20% uranium-235, allows reactors to generate more power from smaller volumes and extend operational cycles between refueling. The expert also expresses concern that the U.S. still lacks a permanent disposal site for spent nuclear material. Most waste continues to be stored at the generating sites, and the federal effort to establish temporary storage for SMR waste remains stalled in court.In the meantime, universities and industrial operators are exploring SMRs and microreactors for combined heat and power applications. A planned microreactor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in collaboration with Nano Nuclear Energy, aims to supply steam and electricity to campus buildings while offering a platform for research, regulatory licensing, and demonstration of advanced nuclear technologies. Meanwhile, Last Energy is working with Texas A&M University to deploy a microreactor at the RELLIS campus, backed by private capital and intended to demonstrate safe, low-power output before scaling to full electricity generation. At the same time, major technology companies and data-center operators are entering the field. X-energy, supported by Amazon, is seeking to build SMRs that could provide carbon-free power to energy-intensive infrastructure such as cloud services and AI data centers. All these early deployments suggest that SMRs could soon become a significant new tool in balancing surging electricity demand with the need for reliable, low-carbon power.
Energy &Amp Environment Microreactor Nuclear Nuclear Energy Nuclear Reactor Reactors Small Modular Reactors Small Reactor SMR
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