TVA, Google, Kairos Power Sign Historic Nuclear Energy Deal

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public power company in the United States, has made history by signing a landmark nuclear energy agreement with Google and Kairos Power. This agreement marks the first time a U.S. utility company has committed to purchasing electricity from the next generation of small modular reactors (SMRs). The deal involves TVA buying power from a 50-megawatt advanced fourth-generation reactor being constructed by Kairos Power in Tennessee, with an expected operational start date before 2030.

This transaction is set to support Google's data centers in Alabama and Tennessee. Although the electricity will be fed into the grid rather than directly supplied to Google, this move allows the tech giant to demonstrate that it has added an equivalent amount of clean energy to the grid. This offsets the carbon emissions generated by its artificial intelligence and data center operations, helping Google meet its emission reduction commitments.

The core of this deal is the small modular reactor (SMR), a new type of nuclear reactor with a generating capacity of less than 300 megawatts. Proponents argue that SMRs can be mass-produced and easily transported, thereby reducing construction costs and timelines. TVA's signing of this agreement is seen as a strong vote of confidence in the potential and fuel efficiency of SMR technology.

This transaction is the first implementation of a 500-megawatt energy agreement signed between Google and Kairos last year. The CEO and co-founder of Kairos Power emphasized that this collaboration is a significant step in making advanced nuclear energy commercially competitive. For the emerging nuclear energy industry, actual orders from utility companies like TVA and tech giants like Google are crucial in transitioning technology from blueprints to commercial reality.

Kairos Power's Hermes 2 design, which uses molten salt cooling technology, is the only advanced reactor design approved for construction by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November 2024. The project has also received substantial support from the U.S. government. The Department of Energy is investing approximately 300 million dollars in Kairos' Hermes project through its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. This investment aims to accelerate the development and deployment of new nuclear technologies. Over the past 20 years, only three full-scale new nuclear reactors have been commissioned in the U.S., highlighting the urgent need for new technologies like SMRs.

Kairos Power aims to have its first commercial reactor operational by 2030 and to build additional reactors by 2035 to meet the growing demand for clean energy. The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence computing and data center scale has led tech companies to face significant power demands and emission reduction pressures. Consequently, they are increasingly turning to nuclear energy. Major tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, have already signed agreements with nuclear energy companies. The nuclear energy industry hopes to secure more long-term, committed purchase agreements to ensure continuous funding and future market demand. The global data center energy manager at Google stated that this collaboration will help meet the growing needs of the digital economy while providing stable, carbon-free energy to the power system.

Last week, data center operator Equinix signed a 500-megawatt procurement agreement with small modular reactor group Oklo and pre-ordered 20 reactors from Radiant Nuclear, further confirming this industry trend.