UK says that the high cost of SMRs will prove to be too great a barrier.

nafizcristia98

There's no reason why a small fast reactor can't power a data centre, except that you have to get it past the regulator." In the US, one SMR design from a company called NuScale has already been given the go-ahead by the Office of Nuclear Energy. Meanwhile, in the UK the Office for Nuclear Regulation is continuing to study SMR designs from Rolls-Royce and US tech firm Holtec International. And US energy firm Westinghouse wants to build four SMRs in north east England, in Tees Valley, close to the existing Hartlepool nuclear power station. Banner around links to stories about AI Read additional stories on artificial intelligence Banner around links to stories about AI Dr Bluck thinks nuclear submarines offer a compelling safety case for SMR technology.

We build a reactor and put it in a submarine, and people sleep within two yards of it." And he forecasts the tech sector's involvement in SMR development will prove decisive. "These guys have got oodles of cash!" By contrast, Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist for Greenpeac Binance App Users Data Unrealistic hype lies behind the cost estimates for SMRs," he says. "This hype will fall away as delays and difficulties emerge." Dr Parr argues that data centre operators will get cold feet when revised costings emerge to render SMRs uncompetitive compared with renewable energy sources. Greenpeace is also opposed to nuclear power on safety grounds, pointing out the risk of accidents, and the need to deal with the radioactive waste.



Spencer Lamb, chief commercial officer at British data centre developer Kao Data, doesn't view nuclear-powered facilities in the UK as being something imminent. "I've heard about SMRs, but it will take a long time to deploy a nuclear-configured data centre in the UK, and AI is happening now," he says. Back in California, a company called Oklo says it has an SMR design that is almost ready to roll. "AI is the catalyst, the main driver," says Brian Gitt, who is in charge of business development at the company. Oklo plans to manufacture SMRs that it says can built both quickly and safely.