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Google and Kairos sign nuclear reactor deal with aim to power AI

New Google agreement could boost development of small modular reactors—if they work.

For Google, it's a key step toward making its headlong rush into power-hungry (and sometimes dubious) AI applications seem environmentally clean and ethical at a time when the world has seen devastating meteorological effects from climate change. Kairos broke ground on its "Hermes" non-powered demonstration reactor in Tennessee in July after receiving a construction permit from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and it expects to bring it online by 2027 (slightly earlier than the date Google has cited). In some ways, it would be an interesting twist if demand for training and running power-hungry AI models, which are often criticized as wasteful, ends up kick-starting a nuclear power renaissance that helps wean the US off fossil fuels and eventually reduces the impact of global climate change.

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