Data centers’ rise from the periphery of energy conversations to center stage has been nothing short of astounding – but it isn’t necessarily hard to explain. By 2030, investment in data centers is projected to hit nearly $7 trillion annually in order to keep pace with the growth in global computing demand, according to McKinsey.

This surge in computing growth is unlike anything we have seen in technology before. And compounding the various logistical and computing innovation challenges that come with developing data centers that are capable of meeting the technology demands of tomorrow is the question of how stakeholders are going to power the new infrastructure they need to build.

Data centers today are often being scoped to add at least 1GW of load growth to the grid – several times what “big” data centers from a decade ago were scoped for. That is enough energy to power 800,000 homes per year. Add in that data centers are often being placed in remote regions where grid access is limited – at best – and the power landscape surrounding data centers does not make for pretty reading.

This reality has made even the most experienced energy professionals shudder, especially as they look for ways to thread the needle of meeting these energy demands in a way that doesn’t compromise both internal and external climate expectations. Enter nuclear.

After years on the fringes of the energy world, nuclear has once again emerged as a potentially vital part of the energy mix, with virtually all technology heavyweights investing in nuclear-related initiatives.

But is a broad-based adoption of nuclear for data centers actually feasible, and when will we see this nuclear-powered world come to fruition? The answer is that thanks to innovations in the nuclear field and collaborative problem-solving between stakeholders, this nuclear-powered future is not as far off as many might think.

Overcoming time and investment hurdles

While their power outputs are significant, running large-scale nuclear plants is notoriously time and capital-intensive. Beyond the constant threat of construction delays, licensing for large-scale power plants can take more than a decade to acquire. These two factors have historically combined to make accessing capital difficult, as investors are wary of plunging funds into projects that may take decades to get online – if ever.

Embracing this reality, organizations have begun to pivot away from “new build” large-scale nuclear towards reactivating existing infrastructure – such as Three Mile Island – and next-gen solutions including small modular reactors (SMRs) and micro modular reactors (MMRs).

Both SMRs and MMRs, in particular, have generated significant interest among the technology sector due to shorter licensing and go-to-market timelines. SMRs, for example, are projected to meet licensing requirements within five to seven years, while MMRs will likely take approximately 18 months. These condensed commissioning roadmaps, as well as their smaller and more modular design, have made nuclear much more accessible than it had been previously.

Fuel management challenges

Fuel management innovation has also been responsible for driving renewed interest in nuclear. Because of their size and inherent operational inefficiencies, traditional large-scale nuclear reactors often require frequent refueling – often every 18-24 months – in addition to the need for larger amounts of fuel in order to operate.

SMRs and MMRs provide an opportunity to extend refueling timelines out by several years and even up to a decade, depending on the fuel and design of the reactor itself. This is primarily due to the fact, the core sizes of SMRs and MMRs are smaller and benefit from optimized fuel utilization. This not only means that these reactors require less fuel to operate over their lifecycle, but that safety is also enhanced and operational downtime is reduced as reactors are able to stay online for longer.

Innovation in the recycling of spent fuel is also seeing significant innovation as well. Countries such as France, which generates more than two-thirds of its energy from nuclear, are leading the way in recycling spent fuel and turning it into “mixed oxide” (MOX) fuels that can be used again in additional reactors.

Shifting renewables attitudes

Driven by reductions in technology costs, accessibility, and legislative support, renewables – namely solar and wind – have seen incredible global proliferation over the last decade and will continue to see adoption surge in the years ahead as well. Yet, even as solar and wind make undeniable contributions towards meeting society’s clean energy needs, intermittency continues to undermine the performance of these two key renewables pillars. With that, the dynamics around renewables supply conversations have changed. Instead of stakeholders continuing to view the renewables landscape as an either/or between nuclear and non-nuclear renewables, conversations are now turning to a more “all of the above” approach.

In 2024, nuclear’s capacity factor stood at over 90 percent, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In comparison, solar had a capacity factor of just 25 percent, while wind’s capacity factor was only modestly higher at 34 percent. Closing this gap has spurred cross-field collaboration between nuclear and non-nuclear stakeholders in a way that didn’t exist previously, and resulted in new paths forward as renewables stakeholders look to problem-solve and pave the way for further renewables adoption as a whole.

The future is now

The emergence of data centers – and more specifically how rapidly they have scaled up – has heaped even more pressure on grids that were already buckling under growing demand. But instead of standing back, energy and technology stakeholders have begun to embrace these challenges through outside of the box means. At the same time, the nuclear industry has redoubled efforts to find ways to meet these needs through innovation. Datacenter power demands are admittedly daunting. However, through ongoing collaboration, we could see a whole new energy paradigm on the horizon with nuclear as a foremost pillar.