On the finish of July, China confirmed a “secret” undertaking that would change the course of the AI race.
On paper, it appears like simply one other industrial undertaking in Beijing’s lengthy checklist of megaprojects.
However this one is totally different.
In actual fact, it could be an important machine China has ever constructed.
It’s known as the CFR-1000.
The CFR-1000 is a quick neutron nuclear reactor cooled by liquid sodium, which makes it extra environment friendly and extra highly effective than right this moment’s reactors. However what’s much more thrilling for the way forward for nuclear vitality is that this reactor can recycle spent gasoline, creating extra vitality from the identical materials.
Consider it like an influence supply that recharges itself whereas it’s getting used.
The CFR-1000 can “breed” new gasoline from its personal nuclear waste, which permits it to stretch each ounce of gasoline additional than right this moment’s reactors can handle.
This groundbreaking nuclear reactor might come on-line quickly after 2030. And as soon as that occurs, it might present sufficient energy to help one million houses.
Or it might do one thing much more consequential for China’s AI ambitions…
It might present the nonstop electrical energy wanted to run the large AI information facilities which can be shaping the way forward for financial energy.
In different phrases, nuclear vitality would possibly develop into the last word energy supply for synthetic intelligence.
And China is working furiously to verify its energy supply comes on-line first.
The New Nuclear Race
For many years now, the U.S. virtually deserted its nuclear vitality ambitions.
Vegetation have been closed and new tasks stalled, whereas licensing become a bureaucratic maze.
However that’s lastly beginning to change.
Final summer season, Congress handed the ADVANCE Act with overwhelming bipartisan help. This laws slashed licensing charges and directed the Nuclear Regulatory Fee to maneuver sooner on new designs.
And in Could, Trump issued an government order directing regulators to prioritize nuclear pilot tasks and clear the backlog of reactor licenses that had stalled for years.
For buyers, these legislative strikes have been a inexperienced mild to again main nuclear tasks right here within the U.S.
One of many quickest movers is Aalo Atomics.
Backed by the Division of Vitality’s pilot program, the corporate broke floor in Idaho this summer season on a brand new 50-megawatt reactor. It’s the primary sodium-cooled reactor to modify on within the U.S. in additional than forty years, with a goal begin date of July 4, 2026.
Aalo calls its method “extra-modular.” As an alternative of 1 large plant, it makes use of smaller factory-built pods that may be shipped and snapped collectively.
Picture: Aalo
The industrial model, due by 2029, is aimed immediately at energy-hungry information facilities.
Aalo raised $100 million in its newest funding spherical, doubled its workforce and opened a brand new manufacturing facility in Austin to start out constructing parts.
TerraPower, backed by Invoice Gates, is constructing a Natrium reactor in Wyoming. It’s a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled design that features on-site storage…
Precisely the sort of regular, versatile energy that big information facilities will want.
Picture: https://www.nucnet.org
The undertaking is anticipated to value about $4 billion, half of which is being coated by the Division of Vitality. The corporate additionally raised one other $1.4 billion in non-public rounds, together with a significant contribution from Nvidia earlier this yr.
X-Vitality has raised $700 million to develop its Xe-100 high-temperature reactor, with backing from Amazon’s Local weather Pledge Fund, Emerson Collective and Jane Avenue.
Its design is well-suited for industrial prospects and information facilities that may’t afford downtime.
And in Could, NuScale Energy turned the primary U.S. firm in a long time to win approval for a brand new nuclear design.
Its 77-megawatt modular reactor could possibly be deployed by 2030, with plans already in movement for a 462-megawatt 12-module model.
That’s sufficient to energy a complete cluster of AI server farms.
And we’ve already famous how Silicon Valley is now immediately linking nuclear to AI.
Google has partnered with Kairos Energy to discover molten salt reactors as a long-term provide for its hyperscale information facilities. Meta and Amazon are weighing related tasks.
After all, this method can appear a bit chaotic in comparison with China’s centralized mannequin.
However messiness is healthier than inaction. Particularly when it’s powered by non-public capital and regulatory momentum.
In spite of everything, vitality is a significant bottleneck for AI.
In actual fact, I imagine it will likely be the primary limiting issue for our AI ambitions because it appears we’ll have sufficient GPUs to run our fashions.
However coaching a cutting-edge AI mannequin can eat as a lot electrical energy as hundreds of houses do in a yr.
That’s why deploying these fashions at scale would require solely new grids.
Wind and photo voltaic assist, however they aren’t dependable sufficient for information facilities that run each hour of every single day. We noticed that earlier this yr when most of Spain was left at midnight for hours.
Pure fuel will nonetheless play a task sooner or later, however its prices rise and fall in ways in which make planning arduous.
That leaves nuclear vitality, which is carbon-free, dense and — most significantly for AI techniques — reliable.
China is aware of this.
That’s why it’s constructing reactors just like the CFR-1000.
Right here’s My Take
The following decade gained’t simply be about who builds probably the most superior AI fashions within the race to realize superintelligence.
Will probably be about who builds the largest and most dependable energy supply to run these fashions.
And nuclear vitality could possibly be the right answer.
Which doesn’t imply China’s CFR-1000 is a slam dunk. It nonetheless faces vital regulatory scrutiny earlier than it will probably develop into operational.
However the U.S. must lean into this second if it desires to win the AI race.
Meaning increase the gasoline provide for these new reactors. It additionally means passing laws to fast-track licenses and letting non-public innovators scale.
Our mixture of capital and expertise must be sufficient to outpace China’s centralized mannequin…
However provided that Washington decides that main in AI means main in vitality too.
Regards,
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