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Big News / Small Bytes


Sep 30
byVictor Tangermann
/ Earth & Energy



Putting the AI in Uranaium


MICROSOFT NEEDS SO MUCH POWER TO TRAIN AI THAT IT'S CONSIDERING SMALL NUCLEAR
REACTORS

byVictor Tangermann


IT'S A HIGHLY AMBITIOUS PLAN.

Sep 30
TerraPower/Futurism


IT'S A HIGHLY AMBITIOUS PLAN.


GOING NUCLEAR

Training large language models is an incredibly power-intensive process that has
an immense carbon footprint. Keeping data centers running requires a ludicrous
amount of electricity that could generate substantial amounts of greenhouse
emissions — depending, of course, on the energy's source.

Now, The Verge reports, Microsoft is betting so big on AI that its pushing
forward with a plan to power them using nuclear reactors. Yes, you read that
right; a recent job listing suggests the company is planning to grow its energy
infrastructure with the use of small modular reactors (SMR.)

At least in theory, SMRs are cheaper to build and more flexible than full-scale
nuclear power stations. And there's at least some momentum behind the idea in
the US — the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission a greenlit a design by
Oregon-based nuclear reactor company NuScale Power just last year.




SMALL AND MODULAR

But before Microsoft can start relying on nuclear power to train its AIs, it'll
have plenty of other hurdles to overcome.

For one, it'll have to source a working SMR design. Then, it'll have to figure
out how to get its hands on a highly enriched uranium fuel that these small
reactors typically require, as The Verge points out. Finally, it'll need to
figure out a way to store all of that nuclear waste long term.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates also started an incubator for SMR designs called
TerraPower. However, TerraPower "does not currently have any agreements to sell
reactors to Microsoft," according to a statement to CNBC.

Other than nuclear fission, Microsoft is also investing in nuclear fusion, a far
more ambitious endeavor, given the many decades of research that have yet to
lead to a practical power system.

Nevertheless, the company signed a power purchase agreement with Helion, a
fusion startup founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman earlier this year, with the
hopes of buying electricity from it as soon as 2028.



Regardless of where it gets its electricity from, Microsoft has some massive
power and water bills to pay for right now — and given the growing hype
surrounding AI, they're only likely to grow.

More on Microsoft: ChatGPT Is Consuming a Staggering Amount of Water



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