Summary

• AI's massive energy needs are driving Big Tech's investment in reliable, 24/7 nuclear power.
• Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are the key technology enabling this shift for scalable data centre energy.
• This trend creates significant investment opportunities across the entire nuclear supply chain, including uranium.
• Google's move signals a broader industry adoption, potentially creating a long-term boom for nuclear stocks.

Big Tech's Power Problem and the Nuclear Option

It seems you can’t open a newspaper these days without being told how artificial intelligence is about to change the world. Fair enough. But amidst all the breathless excitement about chatbots writing poetry and algorithms designing drugs, there’s a rather grubby, inconvenient question nobody seems to be asking. Where on earth is all the electricity going to come from?

The Insatiable Appetite of AI

Let’s be brutally honest. The digital world runs on power, and AI is a particularly greedy guest at the table. A single query on one of these new systems can use ten times the electricity of a simple Google search. Now, multiply that by billions of users and ever more complex models. You quickly arrive at an energy demand that makes your household smart meter look positively quaint. This isn't a minor uptick, it's a vertical climb, and it presents a colossal problem for the tech giants leading the charge. They’ve all made grand promises about being carbon neutral, but how do you square that with building data centres the size of small towns that need to run, without interruption, forever?

Why Windmills and Sunshine Won't Cut It

For years, the go-to answer has been renewables. Slap some solar panels on the roof, buy a few wind farms, and job done. It’s a lovely idea, but it runs into a rather stubborn wall called reality. The sun, you may have noticed, sets every evening. The wind is notoriously unreliable. AI, however, never clocks off. It requires a constant, unwavering supply of power, what the engineers call ‘baseload’. To me, relying on intermittent renewables to power the AI revolution is like trying to run a hospital on a bicycle dynamo. It’s admirable, but ultimately, it’s a fantasy.

Enter the Pocket-Sized Power Station

This is why Google’s recent move to partner with Kairos Power is so significant. They aren’t building another sprawling solar farm. They’re investing in advanced nuclear reactors. Now, before you picture a Chernobyl-style concrete behemoth, think again. We’re talking about Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs. These are a different beast entirely. They are smaller, can be built in a factory, and installed where they’re needed. It’s nuclear power, but not as your parents knew it. Google has realised that if it wants clean, 24/7 power for its AI ambitions, nuclear is the only game in town. And when a company with a market cap north of a trillion pounds makes a bet this big, I think it’s wise to pay attention.

The Ripple Effect for Investors

Google’s decision won’t happen in a vacuum. Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta all face the exact same power conundrum. It seems inevitable they will follow suit, creating a tidal wave of demand across the entire nuclear industry. This isn't just about the reactor designers. It’s about the whole supply chain, an ecosystem that has been largely dormant for decades. Suddenly, the companies that mine uranium, enrich it, and fabricate the fuel rods could find themselves at the centre of a new industrial boom. This is the kind of fundamental, sector-wide shift that creates genuine, long-term opportunities. It’s a complex landscape, which is why a curated approach like the Big Tech's Nuclear Bet: Powering The AI Revolution basket can help make sense of the key players.

Of course, this isn't a one-way bet. The nuclear industry is fraught with risk. Regulatory hurdles are immense, public opinion can be fickle, and projects can suffer from delays. Investing here requires a strong stomach and a long-term perspective. But for those who understand the sheer, unstoppable mathematics of AI’s energy demand, the logic is compelling. The digital future is being built right now, and it appears it may well be powered by the atom.

Deep Dive

Market & Opportunity

• A single ChatGPT query consumes approximately 10 times more electricity than a standard Google search, driving exponential energy demand from AI.
• AI data centres require constant, reliable baseload power, a need that intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind cannot meet.
• Nuclear reactors provide consistent, 24/7 baseload power, representing a scalable, zero-carbon solution for tech companies.
• The global uranium market has been in a deficit for years, with supply constraints meeting accelerating demand.

Key Companies

• Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL): A technology company driving demand for nuclear power to support its massive data centres and AI workloads. It has partnered with Kairos Power for advanced nuclear reactors and committed to purchasing 500 megawatts of power, with the first units expected online by 2030.
• NuScale Power Corp (SMR): A company at the forefront of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) development. Its SMR design was the first to receive approval from US regulators.

Primary Risk Factors

• Regulatory approval processes for nuclear projects are lengthy and complex.
• Construction can face significant delays and cost overruns.
• Public perception of nuclear power remains mixed in many regions.
• Small modular reactor technology is largely unproven at a commercial scale and early projects may face technical or regulatory hurdles.
• Demand growth may be slower than anticipated if other technology companies do not follow Google's lead into nuclear energy.
• The nuclear sector can be particularly volatile, influenced by regulatory decisions, uranium prices, and broader energy market trends.
• All investments carry risk and you may lose money.

Growth Catalysts

• Google's commitment to SMRs validates the technology and signals a major shift in how Big Tech will power AI infrastructure.
• Other major tech companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta, face identical power challenges and may follow Google's move into nuclear energy.
• The development of factory-built, transportable SMRs allows for more scalable and flexible deployment compared to traditional large-scale reactors.
• Increased reactor construction could create unprecedented demand across the entire nuclear supply chain, from uranium mining to fuel fabrication.