Can Small Nuclear Reactors Help Power the AI Boom and Fight Climate Change?

Much of the world had been turning away from traditional nuclear power in recent decades. Aging plants, high construction costs, security risks and radioactive-waste challenges caused policymakers and the public to question the economics of atomic energy. Interest in the technology has only recently been revived amid pressure to hit climate goals and meet surging electricity demand.

The proliferation of data centers, in particular, has focused attention on the availability of around-the-clock power needed by the server farms that underpin the digitized economy and are the backbone of artificial intelligence.