A US company has proposed repurposing two microreactors previously used to power the country’s USS Nimitz supercarrier to power data centers.

According to reports from Bloomberg, HGP Intelligent Energy, a Dallas-based firm, submitted a proposal to the US Department of Energy (DOE) to repurpose two Westinghouse A4W naval fission pressurized water reactors that power the aircraft carrier.

Combined, the reactors could generate up to 520MW of power, which HGP said could be used to boost power for data centers.

Reports state that the reactors will be sent to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory after they are removed from the carrier during its upcoming decommissioning, deactivation, and defueling.

The process is expected to cost between $1 million and $4 million per megawatt, compared to between $8 million to $10 million for a new large-scale reactor.

HGP said that it would cost up to $2.1 billion in private funds to develop the system to utilize the reactors, and plans to apply for a loan guarantee from the DOE to underwrite the development.

The USS Nimitz is a US Navy supercarrier launched in June 1975. It is powered by two microreactors that generate a combined 140,000 shaft horsepower. The reactors also generate 100MW of electricity to power the ships.

It is expected to begin its decommissioning process in spring this year. It is the first supercarrier to be decommissioned, with a further ten expected to undergo a similar process over the next few decades.

Microreactors and small modular reactors (SMR) are becoming a hot topic in the data center world, with numerous developers signing agreements to offtake power from reactors over the next decade.

Over the past few years, Amazon, Google, Data4, Oracle, Switch, and Equinix have all signed long-term deals with SMR firms.

DCD did a deep dive into the sector in our latest magazine. Available to read for free here.