Microsoft Goes Nuclear, Announces Plans To Use Modular Reactors To Power Its AI and Power Data Centers

On September 26, Microsoft posted a new job listing announcing that the company is looking for a principal program manager for nuclear technology tasked with handling microreactor energy strategy. This indicates the company's interest in integrating nuclear energy into its power systems for data centers.

Energy Requirements of Data Centers

In January 2023, Microsoft announced a multi-billion-dollar investment with OpenAI, the developer of AI chatbot ChatGPT. In this agreement, Microsoft will provide the cloud services needed to facilitate the operation of OpenAI's models. The company also introduced an AI-powered search tool, integrating OpenAI's technology into its Bing search engine.

Data centers consume a massive amount of electricity while AI models require an immense amount of computational power for their operations, a challenge that has become more significant with the growing demands of AI. Academic analyses revealed that training GPT-3 creates more than 550 tons of carbon dioxide and requires 3.5 million liters of water.

Microsoft has a reputation for supporting nuclear power as a clean source of energy. The company's founder, Bill Gates, also founded Terrapower, a nuclear innovation company that aims to develop and scale small modular reactor designs.

Since AI data centers have substantial energy demands, the environmental consequences could thwart the climate goal of the company unless it finds clean sources of energy. Microsoft can achieve its sustainability goals with nuclear energy while constantly running its data centers with few emissions.

Harnessing the Potential of Nuclear Energy

The global demand for sustainable sources of energy is surging, and Microsoft aims to lead the move towards this energy transition. To stay ahead in the energy game, the company actively recruits a program manager to ensure that the nuclear reactors efficiently power Microsoft's vast array of data centers.

In its job posting, Microsoft is specifically looking for an individual who can manage the implementation of a global small modular reactor (SMR). Although the software giant already works with at least one third-party nuclear energy provider to reduce its carbon footprint, the advertisement signals its effort to make nuclear energy a significant component of its energy strategy.

SMRs are smaller than facility-scale nuclear power plants but can generate substantial power. The next-generation reactors are easier and cheaper to build than their older, larger predecessors.

Nuclear energy does not create greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming. While its potential has been stained by serious concerns about its safety and role in nuclear weapons proliferation, the worsening impacts of climate change have made nuclear energy an attractive alternative to fossil fuels.

The tech giant has not revealed its plans for next-generation nuclear energy or its approach to addressing associated challenges. Still, the company is confident that integrating small modular reactors and microreactors in its data centers can be the blueprint for other tech companies that struggle with the energy demands of AI.