European data center firm Data4 is looking to deploy nuclear smaller modular reactors (SMRs) from Westinghouse.
Brookfield-owned Data4 this week announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the use of Westinghouse Electric Company’s AP300 SMR to power future data centers in Europe.
Under the agreement, Data4 will use the AP300 SMR as its technology of choice to evaluate deployment at one of its future data centers in Europe and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Further details were not shared.
“The data center industry is undergoing a profound transformation. With the rise of AI, energy supply is evolving rapidly. In the past, data centers relied solely on traditional power utilities. Today, we are entering an era where the campuses of the future will be powered by multiple intelligent sources, seamlessly integrating on-site generation, traditional grid supply, and energy storage," said Olivier Micheli, Data4’s CEO.
“By integrating a solution such as the Westinghouse AP300 SMR, these campuses will gain greater energy autonomy, reducing their reliance on traditional grids and helping to alleviate pressure on public power networks. This marks a major step toward a more resilient, sustainable, and self-sufficient data center infrastructure."
The design of the AP300 SMR technology is based on Westinghouse’s larger already operating advanced Generation III+ reactor, the AP1000 unit.
The AP300 SMR is expected to be in operation by the early 2030s. Based on pressurized light water technology, each will offer 330MWe of nuclear capacity.
Westinghouse announced the AP300 last year, saying it would utilize identical AP1000 technology, including major equipment, structural components, passive safety, proven fuel, and I&C systems. Each offers more than 1GW of capacity, the first AP1000 unit launched in 2018; there are a dozen in operation or construction globally, with 19 more planned.
Westinghouse last year signed an agreement with Community Nuclear Power Limited for the delivery of four AP300 small modular reactors to the North Teesside region of northeast England.
“As technology centers and cloud providers expand data infrastructure to meet increasing demand, small modular reactors offer a promising solution for powering the next generation of energy-intensive computing,” said Patrick Fragman, President and CEO of Westinghouse. “Our AP300 modular reactor can provide data centers with a dedicated, on-site power source for reliable and carbon-free energy.”
Established in 2006 by Colony Capital (now DigitalBridge) and owned by Brookfield since April 2023, Data4 currently operates around 30 data centers in France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and Luxembourg. The company is set to invest some €20bn ($20.7bn) expanding in France over the next five years.
Amid a desire for large amounts of reliable baseload power available quickly, micro and small modular reactors (SMR) have become hot topics in the data center market.
Companies including Edged, Amazon, Google, Oracle, Sabey, Prometheus Hyperscale, Equinix, Switch, and others have signed deals to procure SMRs from various providers.
