Amazon has announced its investment in US nuclear developer X-energy, as part of a collaboration to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) for low-carbon electricity to power its data centers. X-energy revealed that Amazon would anchor a $500 million fundraising effort, which will support the development and licensing of its new generation of SMRs. These smaller reactors are said to be more efficient than large-scale nuclear reactors. Other participants in X-energy’s fundraising include Citadel founder Ken Griffin, Ares Management Corporation, private equity firm NGP, and the University of Michigan.
While the size of Amazon’s stake in X-energy was not disclosed, it was confirmed that the technology giant would hold two seats on the company’s board of directors. This investment is part of Amazon’s broader push into nuclear energy. The company is supporting an SMR project in Washington state and has signed an agreement with Dominion Energy to explore another SMR project near Dominion’s North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia.
Together, Amazon and X-energy aim to bring over 5 gigawatts of SMR-generated power online by 2039, which would be sufficient to supply around 4 million homes. This move by Amazon follows a trend among tech companies seeking low-carbon power sources that align with their climate commitments.
In recent weeks, Google ordered six to seven SMRs from Kairos Power based in California – making it the first tech company commissioning new nuclear power plants. Microsoft also made headlines last month when it committed to purchasing 20 years’ worth of electricity from Three Mile Island if Constellation Energy restarted operations at the mothballed US nuclear plant.
X-energy stands out due to its unique reactor design using helium gas as a coolant instead of water. Its Xe-100 SMRs generate 80MWe each and can be scaled up into “four pack” 320MWe power plants similar in output capacity to typical gas-powered facilities. The first Xe-100 SMR is currently being developed at a Dow manufacturing site on Texas’ Gulf Coast with financial support from the US government.
The US government has been investing billions into companies developing SMRs as they offer cost-cutting benefits through factory construction and on-site assembly methods compared to traditional plants. The growing demand for power due to artificial intelligence data centers has prompted tech companies like Amazon to support nuclear projects as they seek clean and reliable energy sources for their operations.
Kevin Miller, Vice President of Global Data Centers at Amazon stated that X-energy’s technology will help them achieve their climate pledge commitment towards becoming net zero by 2040. Clay Sell, CEO of X-energy emphasized the need for clean and safe grid-connected power for fully realizing opportunities presented by artificial intelligence technologies.
