Meta starts the search for nuclear partners to power energy-hungry AI
Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
- Meta is seeking nuclear energy developers to power its AI and sustainability goals.
- The company said in a blog post it's targeting delivery of the project in the early 2030s.
- Meta is not alone in turning to nuclear power, with Microsoft and Google making investments.
Meta is looking for nuclear energy developers to power its AI ambitions.
On Tuesday, Meta said in a blog post that it's targeting 1 to 4 gigawatts of new nuclear generation capacity to be delivered starting in the early 2030s.
The move is the latest push from Big Tech to use nuclear power to meet the rapidly growing energy demands from the AI boom.
Meta said it's releasing a request for proposals to identify nuclear energy developers with skills in permitting and community engagement who could help the company meet its AI and sustainability objectives.
The company added that it was planning for its data center energy needs while "simultaneously contributing to a reliable grid and advancing our sustainability commitments."
"As new innovations bring impactful technological advancements across sectors and support economic growth, we believe that nuclear energy can help provide firm, baseload power to support the growth needs of the electric grids that power both our data centers," the company said in the blog post shared on its website.
Big Tech goes nuclear
Major tech companies, including Microsoft and Google, are investing in nuclear power to provide energy for AI data centers.
Nuclear energy provides clean, constant power to fuel data centers, the infrastructure that supports the training and running of AI models.
In September, energy supplier Constellation Energy struck a deal with Microsoft to provide the tech giant with nuclear power for the next two decades by resurrecting part of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.
Google announced in Ocotber it was purchasing nuclear energy from Kairos Power, a California-based company developing small modular reactors.
Representatives for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.