Nuclear energy has long been a controversial and difficult sell; nuclear power stations are expensive and slow to deploy, and fraught with opposition from groups concerned about safety and waste disposal.

However, recent years have seen a number of companies look to creating smaller reactors, known as small nuclear reactors (SMRs) that offer tens to hundreds of megawatts of energy, versus gigawatts, using repeatable and factory-made components that can be deployed on sites the size of a football field.

The promise is quicker and cheaper reactors that can be deployed by enterprises and utilities at a price and timescale comparable that make nuclear-powered data center campuses not only possible but entirely likely in the coming years.

Originally aired as part of DCD's Gridscale broadcast, we talk to Alan Howard of analyst firm Omdia and Compass Datacenters' Tony Grayson about SMRs and the role they can play in the future energy mix of data centers.

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