Amazon today became the latest big tech company to throw its weight behind nuclear power, joining Microsoft and Google, which both previously announced long-term promises to buy nuclear power from startups to power their data centers. The company revealed three deals, including an investment in startup X-Energy and two development agreements that aim to add around 300 megawatts worth of capacity in both the Pacific Northwest and Virginia, two data center hotspots. The two development deals outline the construction of small modular reactors (SMR), which generate a fraction of the power produced by contemporary nuclear power plants but which proponents say will be faster and cheaper to build. Amazon expects the reactors will start generating electricity in the early 2030s. In the Pacific Northwest, the agreement with the Energy Northwest consortium of state public utilities will support the construction of four SMRs that will produce around 320 megawatts combined. Future expansion could bump the total generating capacity to 960 megawatts, enough to power about 1 million homes. In Virginia, Amazon and Dominion have agreed to “explore the development” of 300 megawatts worth of SMRs near the North Anna located between Washington, D.C., and Richmond. Those projects are likely to be built using technology from X-Energy, an SMR startup based in Rockville, Maryland. Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund led a new $500 million Series C-1 round into the company, with participation from other investors including Citadel founder Ken Griffin, NGP, and the University of Michigan. The new round adds to the $385 million the company has raised to date, according to PitchBook.

Full report : Amazon to invest in X-Energy to make small nuclear reactors to power its massive artificial intelligence data centers.