Google has signed a landmark deal to use electricity produced by small nuclear reactors to power its artificial intelligence (AI) efforts. Under the agreement with startup Kairos Power announced on Monday, the California-based tech giant will back the construction of seven small nuclear reactors capable of generating 500 megawatts of power.

The first reactor is scheduled to come online by 2030, with others to follow in the coming years. “The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth,” Michael Terrell, the senior director of energy and climate at Google, said in a blog post. “This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone.” Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon are driving renewed interest in nuclear energy as they scour the planet for electricity sources to power the data centres underpinning the boom in AI.

Last month, Microsoft signed a deal with the utility Constellation Energy to restore a decommissioned nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania that will supply the tech giant with power for the next 20 years.

Amazon earlier this year inked an agreement with Houston-based Talen Energy to buy a 1,200-acre (486-hectare) data centre campus in Pennsylvania that draws energy from a nearby nuclear plant. (Aljazeera)…[+]