The race for artificial intelligence has increased the energy needs of tech giants, while they have committed to reducing their CO2 emissions. Indeed, generative AI models like GPT-4, Gemini or Llama (the Facebook model) require significant computing resources and a lot of energy during development and deployment. And in order to meet these new needs with clean energy, many companies are turning to nuclear power.
Recently, our colleagues at Engadget spotted a call for tenders from the Meta group, addressed to companies specializing in nuclear energy. “We are looking for developers with strong expertise in community engagement, development, licensing and execution, who have opportunities to develop new nuclear energy resources – either small modular reactors (SMRs), or larger nuclear reactors”we read in the company publication.
A necessity
Previously, we relayed a rumor according to which Meta already had a data center project powered by nuclear energy. However, this project would have fallen through following the discovery of a rare species of bee on the location planned for the new site.
As a reminder, Meta’s Llama artificial intelligence models power the Meta AI assistant, which the group already offers on its connected glasses, as well as on its messaging services. But besides that, Llama is open source and can be used by businesses. As of August, Meta reported that Llama models have already been downloaded nearly 350 million times.
The other tech giants have already advanced their pawns
In any case, while Meta is only in the early stages, other tech giants have already concluded agreements in the nuclear field. In October, Google announced a partnership with the company Kairos Power from which the firm will purchase energy from small nuclear reactors. Amazon, for its part, has also announced multiple agreements and investments in this area.
Today, small nuclear reactors seem to be the option favored by tech players. Amazon explained, in its announcement in October, that this type of reactor has a small physical footprint, which allows it to be built close to the electricity grid. But that’s not all, since small nuclear reactors can also be built more quickly, allowing new sources of clean energy to be obtained more quickly.
- Meta launches a call for tenders addressed to companies specializing in nuclear power
- The clean energy needs of tech giants have increased sharply, with the race for AI
- Google and Amazon have already announced partnerships to source nuclear energy
