This collaboration leverages NANO Nuclear’s advanced nuclear reactor technologies in development to provide energy for Digihost’s operations, including AI-driven data centers and digital asset colocation programs. The non-binding MOU is the first step in a broader strategic relationship, the companies said, and it establishes a framework aimed at “enhancing public understanding and community support” for nuclear energy, and particularly advanced nuclear technologies such as NANO Nuclear’s ‘ZEUS’ and ‘ODIN’ portable microreactors, which are designed to reliably and safely provide consistent and carbon-neutral baseload energy.

“The opportunity to collaborate with NANO Nuclear represents a bold move toward achieving our sustainability goals,” said Michel Amar, CEO of Digihost Technology. “By leveraging NANO Nuclear’s advanced nuclear reactor technology, we gain the potential ability to scale quickly across our existing power assets following successful initial deployment. This collaboration positions Digihost at the forefront of delivering reliable, modular baseline power, enabling the development of Tier III HPC data centers in locations previously deemed unfeasible. This strategic move also allows us to capitalize on the rapidly expanding Tier III data center market, further solidifying our leadership in the industry.”

The deployment of NANO Nuclear’s advanced nuclear reactor technology is expected to replace Digihost’s existing infrastructure, advancing Digihost’s commitment to carbon neutrality and providing baseload power for Digihost’s expanding data center operations. The project’s timeline aligns with the NANO Nuclear’s overall expectations for licensing and deployment, with reactor integration within Digihost’s operations targeted for 2031. Before deployment, the companies will conduct a site assessment of Digihost’s location, initiate site preparations and develop a phased implementation strategy, collaborate on the design, construction, testing, and commissioning of an advanced microreactor power system, and work together on regulatory and licensing activities. The companies will also look to further memorialize their relationship with definitive agreements.

The ZEUS microreactor prototype is designed to harness thermal energy for direct heat applications or to convert it into electric power. This allows for diverse applications, ranging from heating to electricity generation.

The ODIN reactor will operate at higher than conventional water-cooled reactor temperatures, which will boost resilience and conversion efficiency in generating electricity.

According to NANO, the ODIN design aims to take advantage of the natural convection of coolant for heat transfer to the power conversion cycle at full power and for decay heat removal during reactor shutdown, operational transients, and off-normal conditions.

Both microreactors use High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel, are modular, and are easily transportable, NANO said.

Under the non-binding Master Power Agreement signed by the companies, Oklo would develop, construct and operate powerhouses to provide power to Switch across the United States through a series of power purchase agreements.

Switch is a builder and operator of AI, cloud and enterprise data centers. Digital infrastructure has become a significant driver of new power demand.

Since January 2016, all Switch data centers have been powered by 100% renewable energy, representing nearly 984 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually.

This latest multi-decade relationship aims help accelerate Oklo’s early powerhouse deployments and help the company scale up in response to growing demand. As of July this year, Oklo had non-binding letters of intent for about 1,350 MW of microreactor capacity, a 93% increase from its 700 MW project pipeline in July 2023, the company told investors in its Q2 earnings call. Of the 650 MW announced during the second quarter of this year, 600 MW were for data center projects. By November, Oklo’s pipeline had grown to 2,100 MW, almost entirely for data centers.

Oklo is developing next-generation nuclear power plants called “powerhouses” that run on nuclear waste. The company’s Aurora powerhouse design is a fast neutron reactor that would transport heat from the reactor core to a power conversion system and is designed to run on material from used nuclear fuel known as HALEU, or “high assay, low-enriched uranium.” The reactor builds on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II and space reactor legacy. The Aurora powerhouse is designed to scale to 15 MW and 50 MW offerings today. Oklo is also evaluating a 100 MW or larger offering that it is developing.

Oklo argues its business model simplifies clean energy access by selling power, not power plants – offering customers a direct pathway to advanced nuclear energy. Aurora powerhouses are planned to support growing energy demands as they are deployed in the future.

Oklo’s first Aurora powerhouse is targeted for deployment in 2027 at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The company received a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy, was awarded fuel material from INL, submitted the first advanced fission custom combined license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and is developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.

The partners said this Master Agreement establishes a framework for collaboration and that individual binding agreements would be finalized as project milestones are reached.

“This is an historic moment for Virginia and the world at large,” said Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

As part of this effort, the MIT spinout has reached an agreement with Dominion Energy Virginia to provide non-financial collaboration, including development and technical expertise, as well as leasing rights for the proposed site. Dominion currently owns the proposed site.

The proposed plant would generate about 400 MW of electricity. CFS conducted a global search for the site of this first commercial fusion plant, known as ARC, which the company will independently finance, build, own and operate.

“Our customers’ growing needs for reliable, carbon-free power benefits from as diverse a menu of power generation options as possible, and in that spirit, we are delighted to assist CFS in their efforts.” said Dominion Energy Virginia President Edward H. Baine. 

CFS is currently completing development of its fusion demonstration machine, SPARC, at its headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts. The company said it expects SPARC to produce its first plasma in 2026 and net fusion energy shortly afterward. This would be a significant achievement, as it would be the first time a “commercially relevant” design would produce more power than consumed. In CFS’ eyes, SPARC paves the way for ARC, which the company expects to deliver power to the grid in the early 2030s.

Nuclear fusion occurs when two atoms combine to form a single atom. The combined atom has less mass than the original two atoms, with large amounts of energy released in the process. Fusion is considered the holy grail of clean energy because of its potential to produce nearly limitless, carbon-free energy. But getting energy from fusion – the process that powers the sun and stars – has been a great challenge on Earth. Scientists have been trying to replicate it as far back as the 1930s.

But there have been recent breakthroughs. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California for the first time produced more energy in a nuclear fusion reaction than was used to ignite it, a long-sought accomplishment known as net energy gain.

The extremely brief fusion reaction, which used 192 lasers and temperatures measured at multiple times hotter than the center of the sun, was achieved December 5, 2022.

In August 2023, the laboratory said it had achieved net energy gain once again.

Achieving net energy gain has been challenging because fusion happens at such high temperatures and pressures that it is incredibly difficult to control.

CFS was spun out of MIT in 2018. Since then, it has raised more than $2 billion in capital. In addition to this private capital, CFS has been awarded $16.5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy. The most recent grant of $15 million was announced in June 2024 as part of the first phase of the DOE’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.

Meta is seeking both small modular reactors (SMRs) and larger nuclear reactors in this request. The company said it is looking for developers that can help accelerate the availability of new nuclear generators and create “sufficient scale” to achieve material cost reductions by deploying multiple units. Ultimately, Meta wants partners who will permit, design, engineer, finance, construct and operate the nuclear power plants.

Meta noted that compared to renewable energy projects like solar and wind, nuclear energy projects are more capital intensive, take longer to develop, are subject to more regulatory requirements, and have a longer expected operational life. Thus, Meta said it needs to engage nuclear energy projects earlier in their development lifecycle, while considering their operational requirements while designing a contract. Additionally, Meta argues that scaling deployments of nuclear technology offers the best chance of “rapidly reducing” cost.

Interested parties must complete a qualification intake form by Friday, January 3, 2025, with initial RFP proposals for participants due on Friday, February 7, 2025.

Since 2020, Meta has matched its global operations with 100% clean and renewable energy, totaling over 12,000 MW of renewable energy contracts worldwide to date.

But Meta is not alone in eying nuclear for powering data center operations. In October, Google and Kairos Power signed an agreement aimed at deploying a fleet of nuclear power projects totaling 500 MW by 2035. The deal would allow Kairos Power to “quickly advance down the learning curve” as it works to deploy its fluoride salt-cooled, high temperature reactor.

Days later Amazon signed three new agreements to enable the construction of several small modular reactors (SMRs) in Virginia and Washington state. This includes an investment in SMR developer X-energy, who is building the four reactors as part of the Washington state project.

Oklo is another advanced nuclear company that is making a big data center play. Of the 650 MW in its project pipeline announced during the second quarter of this year, 600 MW were for data centers.

Aside from nuclear, geothermal has also emerged as potential solution to energy-hungry data centers. Google recently entered into an agreement with Berkshire Hathaway electric utility NV Energy to power its Nevada data centers with about 115 MW of geothermal energy, and Houston-based geothermal startup Sage Geosystems and Meta Platforms recently announced an agreement to deliver up to 150 MW of new geothermal baseload power to support the latter’s data center growth.

According to a study published by EPRI in May, data centers could consume up to 9% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030 — more than double the amount currently used. Demand for computing power from data centers, fueled by artificial intelligence and other new technologies, requires enormous amounts of power.

In the U.S., data center demand is expected to reach 35 GW by 2030, up from 17 GW in 2022, McKinsey & Company projects. Grid operators and utilities expect to see significant load growth driven by electrification, new manufacturing, and data center development. 

The identified site is on company-owned Joshua Falls property in Campbell County, Virginia, and Appalachian Power now plans to begin the early site permit application process.

The site provides access to existing electrical infrastructure that is necessary for a generation project, the utility said, including a 765-kilovolt substation and nearby roadways that can support moving the necessary equipment onsite. The relatively small footprint allows SMRs to be constructed in areas that were not previously feasible for nuclear energy generation.

“SMR technology is a key component to providing perfect power to our customers,” said Bill Fehrman, AEP president and chief executive officer. “Appalachian Power and AEP are committed to working with our states to develop energy solutions that align with state policy goals and reliably serve our customers.”

The company plans to file an application with the Virginia State Corporation Commission in spring 2025. In addition, Appalachian Power plans to apply for part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s $900 million grant program to accelerate the deployment of SMRs and help reduce customer costs.

Earlier this year, Virginia’s House and Senate both approved different versions of legislation that were meant to advance the deployment of SMRs in the state. HB 1491 allows Appalachian Power to request to incur project development costs prior to filing an application for a certificate to construct an SMR facility. SB 454 permits Dominion Energy Virginia to petition the State Corporation Commission at any time for the approval of a rate adjustment clause for the recovery of project development costs for up to one SMR facility. The bill, which originally was intended to include Appalachian Power/AEP, also permits the utility to petition the Commission for project development cost recovery along separate development phases.

In 2023, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed multiple bills into Virginia law intended to promote the development of SMRs. One law, from identical HB 2386 and SB 1464 bills, created the Virginia Power Innovation Fund. Money from the fund would be used solely for research and development of innovative energy technologies, including nuclear, hydrogen, carbon capture and utilization, and energy storage. The law also created the Virginia Power Innovation Program, using funds to establish a Virginia nuclear innovation hub and award competitive grants to support energy innovation.

Another bill signed by the Governor (HB 1779) established a fund for awarding competitive grants to any Virginia public or private university that seeks to establish or expand a nuclear education program. This is defined in the bill as an instructional program that leads to a degree or credential that specifically supports the nuclear power industry, including nuclear engineering and nuclear welding.

Over the summer, Dominion Energy Virginia issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from nuclear technology companies to evaluate the feasibility of developing an SMR at the company’s North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, Virginia. While Dominion stressed the RFP is not a commitment to build an SMR at North Anna, the company said it is an important first step in evaluating the technology and the North Anna site.

Through this RFI, NYSERDA wants to identify entities that are currently pursuing or interested in a potential role in advanced nuclear energy development. Responses will help inform next steps following the Future Energy Economy Summit held in September at Governor Kathy Hochul’s direction, NYSERDA said.

“As local, national and international companies pursue nuclear energy for their on-site energy needs and the federal government signals interest in investing in this resource, we recognize that now is the time to position New York to fully engage this new sector that can drive significant economic development,” said NYSERDA president and CEO Doreen M. Harris. “Understanding the status of potential opportunities through this RFI will enable us to begin developing strategic partnerships and initiatives for complementary resources that will ultimately support the increased deployment of renewables as we work toward a zero-emission grid of the future.”

Entities encouraged to respond include stakeholders who may be considering advanced nuclear solutions; supply chain companies that could provide critical components for development of advanced nuclear energy projects in New York; potential host communities for nuclear reactors or supply chain projects; workforce development and training entities; nuclear generation project developers; financing/funding entities; and research and development entities.

Generation project consideration associated with this RFI is restricted to New York Independent System Operator (NYSISO) Control Area Load Zones A-F  which encompasses the area of New York State north and west of the lower Hudson Valley. All other aspects of the request including energy consumers, supply chain, and workforce apply to all parts of New York State.

Responses are preferred by December 16, 2024, NYSERDA said.

NYSERDA also anticipates releasing a Final Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Technologies which was informed through public comments collected on the Draft Blueprint released at the Future Energy Economy Summit in September. The Summit put forward actions and needs meant to address increasing energy demands due to new economic development opportunities, acceleration of renewable energy development, as well as advancement of the technologies that NYSERDA says will be necessary to enable a “deeply renewable” grid.

The U.S. just set new deployment targets at the U.N. climate summit (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan: Add 35 GW of new capacity by 2035 and achieve a sustained pace of 15 GW per year by 2040. The new framework is the first of its kind for the nuclear sector and identifies more than 30 actions the U.S. government can take, along with industry and power customers, to help expand domestic capacity. The targets are also meant to align with last year’s pledges at COP to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 and to secure a nuclear fuel supply chain free from Russian influence.  

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) argues that the timely expansion of U.S. domestic nuclear capacity will require buildout of new reactors at a pace not seen since the 1970s — relying heavily on design standardization, new manufacturing techniques and the lessons learned from past deployments. Large-scale light-water reactors, along with new small modular- and microreactor designs could all be built in the early 2030s to help meet the unique heat and power needs of different power customers and the military, DOE added.

Preliminary research from the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy shows that a majority of the U.S.’ nuclear power plants could host up to 60 GW of new capacity by building large-scale light water reactors like the AP1000s. That number could grow to 95 GW if including sites that can potentially host small modular reactors. Many of these sites were originally designed for additional units that were never built, and utilities could take advantage of previous engagements with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to expedite the licensing process, DOE said.

The study also found an additional 128 to 174 GW of new capacity could also be built near U.S. coal plants depending on the reactor type, which includes small modular reactors. These smaller reactors would require less up-front capital investment to build.

With the Biden administration set to vacate the White House early next year, the U.S. clean energy industry is bracing for likely change. However, President-elect Trump has voiced his support for nuclear energy on the campaign trail, Bloomberg notes, which gives some hope that this new goal will survive the handover.

Nuclear power has been getting its time in the spotlight in recent months. Late in September, DOE announced the closing of a loan guarantee of up to $1.52 billion to Holtec to help finance the restoration and resumption of service of the 800 MW Palisades nuclear generating station in Covert Township, Michigan.

Palisades, which ceased operations in May 2022, will be brought back online and upgraded to produce power until at least 2051, subject to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing approvals. The NRC also issued new guidance meant to ensure the restart is performed safely. Once complete, this project will be the first recommissioning of a retired nuclear power plant in U.S. history.

Additionally, fourteen of the world’s largest financial institutions will pledge increased support for nuclear power, according to a recent Financial Times report. Institutions including Bank of America, Barclays, PNP Paribas, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are expected to support the COP28 goal of tripling global nuclear power capacity by 2050. Driven by decarbonization goals and projected load growth from an artificial intelligence (AI) boom, support for nuclear power has especially increased the last couple of years.

Technology giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon are significantly driving electricity demand, primarily through extensive and rapidly expanding data center operations. In doing so, they’ve expressed interest in nuclear as a partner.

Under the agreement, Kairos Power will develop, construct and operate a series of advanced nuclear plants, selling energy and ancillary services to Google under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

Google said the plants will be sited in relevant service territories to supply clean power to its data centers. The first deployment is targeted by 2030 to support the tech giant’s 24/7 carbon-free goals. The additional power from this agreement will complement Google’s existing use of renewables, like solar and wind.

The deal represents the first corporate agreement for multiple deployments of a single advanced reactor design in the United States. 

“Our partnership with Google will enable Kairos Power to quickly advance down the learning curve as we drive toward cost and schedule certainty for our commercial product,” said Mike Laufer, Kairos Power CEO and co-founder.

California-based Kairos Power is working on fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology. The company’s 35 MW thermal reactor will test the concept of using molten salt as a coolant and test the type of nuclear fuel.

Last December, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a construction permit to Kairos for its Hermes test reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This was the first construction permit NRC has issued for a reactor that uses something other than water to cool the reactor core.

In July of this year, Kairos Power began construction on the Hermes reactor. The project aims to be operational in 2027. Hermes’ primary objective will be to demonstrate Kairos Power’s ability to produce affordable nuclear heat. Hermes will not produce electricity.

Kairos Power aims to develop a larger version for commercial electricity that could be used in the early 2030s.

Technology giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon are driving significant electricity demand, primarily through rapidly expanding data center operations. These data centers are essential for supporting cloud services, AI development and other digital operations. The facilities require vast amounts of power to run servers, cooling systems and other infrastructure needed to store and process massive amounts of data.

According to a study published by EPRI in May, data centers could consume up to 9% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030 — more than double the amount currently used.

The rulemaking would codify the generic findings of the NRC’s draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors, or NR GEIS. The draft statement uses a technology-neutral framework and a set of plant and site parameters to determine which potential environmental impacts would be common to the construction, operation and decommissioning of many new nuclear reactors.

The idea would be to save time and money by avoiding repeated reviews for each project. Assuming 20 applications over the next decade, fully utilized NR GEIS could result in total net savings of up to $40.1 million, or $2 million per application, according to NRC’s analysis.

NRC said other benefits include “greater regulatory stability, predictability and clarity to the licensing process.”

The proposed rule would reduce the cost to industry of preparing environmental reports for new reactor applications by focusing resources on project-specific analyses, according to NRC. Unique issues would still get specific attention, the regulator said.

This follows an NRC vote in April on an earlier GEIS framework for advanced nuclear reactor applications. At that time, the Commission directed NRC staff to change the applicability of the GEIS and rule from “advanced nuclear reactors” to any new nuclear reactor application that meets the values and assumptions of the plant parameter envelopes and the site parameter envelopes used to develop the GEIS.

The NRC is asking for public feedback and will hold several public meetings in November 2024. Public comments are due by December 18, 2024.

The NR GEIS could potentially be used for microreactors, but the NRC said its staff currently does not have enough information to determine whether the proposed rule could potentially affect any small entities under NRC size standards. NRC staff is requesting public comment on the potential impact of the proposed rule on these small entities.

Oklo is the only advanced fission company with a DOE site use permit. The site investigations enabled by this agreement will focus on geotechnical assessments, environmental surveys and infrastructure planning.

“Our partnership with the DOE has been instrumental. Beginning with the site use permit and fuel award in 2019,” said Jacob DeWitte, Co-Founder and CEO of Oklo. “Signing this MOA reflects our commitment to timely deployment and operational readiness while also helping to manage costs and maintain our project schedule.”

Oklo obtained a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the INL site in 2019. The company applied with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in March 2020 to build and operate the INL reactor. This was the first combined license application ever accepted by the NRC for an advanced non-light water reactor.,

In January 2024, the company announced that DOE had reviewed and approved the Safety Design Strategy (SDS) for its Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility at INL. The Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility is being designed to demonstrate the reuse of recovered nuclear material to support the reactor demonstration.

In its Q2 earnings call, Oklo told investors it had non-binding letters of intent for about 1,350 MW of microreactor capacity, a 93% increase from its 700 MW project pipeline in July 2023.

Of the 650 MW announced during the second quarter of this year, 600 MW were for data center projects. Earlier this year, Oklo signed a pre-agreement with data center colocation company Equinix to provide up to 500 MW of nuclear power. The company has signed an LOI with Wyoming Hyperscale to deliver 100 MW through its data centers.

Another notable agreement could result in Oklo providing 50 MW of power to oil & gas company Diamondback Energy in the Permian Basin in Texas.

The company is working to convert these LOIs into power purchase agreements toward the end of this year and beginning of next, the company said in recent filings to the SEC.

Oklo is developing next-generation nuclear power plants called “powerhouses.”

The company’s Aurora powerhouse design is a fast neutron reactor that would transport heat from the reactor core to a power conversion system and is designed to run on material from used nuclear fuel known as HALEU, or “high assay, low-enriched uranium.” The reactor builds on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II and space reactor legacy.

The company plans to build its second and third plants in southern Ohio, on land owned by the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI). Earlier this year, Oklo entered into land agreements with SODI, which built on the companies’ initial agreement from May 2023.

The Ohio and Idaho projects are for powerhouses at the 15 MW size. But more recently, there has been more interest in the company’s 50 MW offering, Oklo officials said.