TerraPower’s nuclear reactor has a secret weapon for powering AI data centers
techcrunch ·
TerraPower, founded by Bill Gates, plans to announce its first data center project this year, with construction expected to begin in 2027, making it the company's second power plant after its Wyoming facility. The startup's Natrium design uses a molten salt-cooled reactor with a key advantage: built-in energy storage via molten sodium. Instead of ramping the reactor up and down, TerraPower keeps it running at full capacity and stores excess heat in a vat, then uses that heat to generate extra steam when power demand spikes. This allows the expensive nuclear plant to maintain high utilization while accommodating the rapid load swings of AI data centers. The reactor was originally designed to complement intermittent renewables like wind and solar, but the flexibility also suits data center power needs. This storage-based approach could give TerraPower a competitive edge in the race to power AI.
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