Next-Gen Nuclear Power: Oracle’s Solution for Energy-Hungry AI

Oracle chairman Larry Ellison announced this week that AI’s growing electricity demand is pushing Oracle to consider next-gen nuclear power.

During an earnings call, Ellison said the company is designing a data center that will need over a gigawatt of electricity, which would be supplied by three small nuclear reactors, according to CNBC.

Ellison revealed that Oracle’s planned data center would be powered by small modular nuclear reactors, which already have building permits. He didn’t disclose the location but highlighted the growing energy demand that data centers would need on the earnings call.

The reactors in question, under 300 megawatts, promise faster deployment of carbon-free energy. Though promising, small modular reactors are not expected to be commercialized in the U.S. until the 2030s.

As we noted this summer, Sam Altman-backed nuclear startup Oklo is a Zero Hedge favorite and remains on pace to launch its first reactor by 2027.

The company – which we have highlighted as the potential solution to the extreme forthcoming demands in energy as a result of artificial intelligence – makes nuclear power plants, ranging from 15 MWe to 50 MWe, utilizing liquid metal reactor technology.

And while licensing and fuel supply are still bottlenecks, according to the report, the company has “been selected by the Department of Energy for four cost-share awards to potentially commercialize advanced recycling technologies” and has “secured a site use permit from the DOE and a fuel award from INL,” Reuters reports.

Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte commented: “We’ve tried to design and approach this whole thing in a way that we can get it built as soon as reasonably possible.”

DeWitte added: “We’re excited about the diversity of customers, because it shows that our size and business model clearly match with what customers are interested in.”

“They’re not starting overnight with a facility that’s using that much power, but they typically build into that, and they want to have that n+1 or n+2 dynamic build up with them,” he added.

“You can’t really do that if you’re building a 300 MW reactor, but you can do that with what we’re doing and that adds a lot of value.”

Oklo’s ‘Aurora powerhouse’ reactor will cost around $70 million for the 15 MW version, with an LCOE of $80-$130/MWh, similar to peaking gas-fired plants and offshore wind, per Lazard analysis.

Ellison is already a well known supporter of new energy in Tesla…could an Oklo and Oracle partnership be in the cards down the road?