Oracle (ORCL.US) is designing a new nuclear-powered data center to meet the "crazy" demand for AI

Intelligible Finance learned that Larry Ellison, chairman and co-founder of Oracle (ORCL.US), announced a statement this week. Ellison told investors during the company's earnings call on Monday that the electricity demand for artificial intelligence has become so "crazy" that Oracle is seeking power from next-generation nuclear technology. The Oracle chairman said the company is designing a data center that will need more than 1 gigawatt of electricity. He added that the data center will be powered by three small nuclear reactors.

"We've identified the site and the power plant, and they've been licensed to build three small modular reactors. These are small modular reactors for powering data centers. It's gotten so crazy. That's where we are now," Ellison said. He did not reveal the location of the data center and future reactors.

As the electricity demand for data centers, manufacturing, and the broader electrification of the economy rises, small modular reactors are a new design that could accelerate the deployment of reliable, carbon-free energy. Generally, these reactors have a power output of 300 megawatts or less, about a third of the size of a typical reactor in the United States. They will be pre-fabricated in several pieces, then assembled on-site, reducing the high capital cost that has deterred large-scale factories.

Small modular reactors are a future technology, and nuclear industry executives generally believe that small modular reactors will not be commercialized in the United States before the 2030s. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, there are currently three small modular reactors operating in the world, in China, Russia, and Japan.