Facebook Joins the Club ~ Nuclear Power for Data Centers

pulling numbers out of a hat META, the parent firm of Facebook which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram, announced it will release a request for proposals (RFP) to identify nuclear energy developers targeting 1-4 gigawatts (GW) of new nuclear generation capacity in the U.S.

The firm said it will qualify potential bidders and then release a detailed RFP. Meta said it will take submissions from developers that want to be qualified to take part in the request for proposals until Feb. 7, 2025. It did not indicate how soon after it would release an RFP or what the timeframe would be for developers to prepare and submit their responses to the firm.

The firm said it is taking an open approach with the RFP, “so it can partner with others across the industry to bring new nuclear energy to the grid.” However, the sparse details provided so far as to what Facebook wants raise a number of key questions.

The announcement this week seems more like a request for information (RFI) rather than a request for detailed proposals specifying reactor technologies, costs, and schedules. Typically, an RFI is used to test the water for vendor interest especially for large, expensive, high risk procurements where the customer isn’t sure what it wants or whether vendors can deliver cost competitive solutions to meet its needs.

Facebook said in a press statement its aim is to add 1-4 GW of new nuclear generation capacity in the U.S. to be delivered starting in the early 2030s. The firm says its list of actions is to identify developers that can help accelerate new nuclear generators and create sufficient scale to achieve material cost reductions by deploying multiple units. Also, the firm expressed interest in, but provided no details, about working with partners who will permit, design, engineer, finance, construct, and operate these power plants.

Facebook’s “open process” sounds a lot like an effort to keep up with the other major IT platforms to provide for energy security in a climate constrained world. That’s a good idea, but joining the club requires proving one is serious about meeting the conditions for membership.

A key question is whether whether and how soon Facebook really wants to build and operate up to 4 GW of nuclear power for its data centers and if it will go with the fast path forward with light water designs or opt for the longer time frames facing advanced reactor developers which include ‘keep awake at night’ delays in getting supplies of HALEU fuel.

Significantly, Amazon and Google bypassed proven light water reactors designs in their choices for reactors focusing on firms which are still in the middle of the design process and in pre-licensing engagement with the NRC. Will Facebook follow their path?

While Facebook was releasing its vision for nuclear power, at the same time it also announced development of a major data center in Louisiana. Entergy has two nuclear power plants in Louisiana that are expected to provide power to the data center. Like Microsoft, in this instance, power purchase agreements are the first order of business.

How Realistic is Facebook’s Effort?

The power rating of the request of 1-4 GW is unusually large, on a global scale, for a single data center or cluster of them. One interpretation is that this is a cumulative number for a fleet of data centers and reactors which may or may not be co-located depending on grid access and site location issues.

Any project manager of a new nuclear power plant knows that on day one the process of design, build, and commissioning of a new 1 GW nuclear power plant is up to a decade long effort. For instance, in the United Arab Emirates, work on the first of four 1,400 MW PWRs built by South Korean firms began in 2010 and the last of the four units was commissioned in March 2024. Each of the four units took eight years to complete. This is despite the fact that South Korean firms had already built similar units in South Korea.

Put another way Facebook’s announced ambition of four 1-4 GW of power is the equivalent of Russia’s current construction of four 1,200 MW VVERs in Turkey. Work began on the first unit in 2018 and the last of the four units is scheduled to be commissioned in 2028. Each large reactor is taking six to seven years from first concrete to sending power to the grid.

roastom turkey nuclear

Nuclear Power in Turkey. Table: World Nuclear Association

These experiences in the UAE and Turkey indicate that whatever technologies and developers of nuclear reactors Facebook chooses, if the firm awards its first contracts by the end of 2026, it will expect to get power from the first units in the early to mid-2030s assuming there are not show stoppers in terms of licensing, available fuels, etc.

Do Better than ‘bring me a rock”

Last April Microsoft was reportedly said to be planning to need 5 GW of nuclear power for its data centers. The firm never provided details of its plans or how feasible it would be to achieve them, and has been mum about the entire idea since then. Subsequently, Microsoft signed a significant power purchase agreement in September 2024 with Constellation.

The rest of the offering, the so-called “open approach,” appears to land in the proverbial category of “bring me a rock, and I’ll know what I want when I see it.” Any nuclear reactor vendor, large or small, interested in the RFP would likely send message back to META asking for the equivalent of an “suppliers conference” to clarify the boundaries of what the company really needs, wants, and is willing to pay for. Ultimately, META will need to prove that it knows what it wants and has realistic expectations about getting it.

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Matchmaking to Select Sites for Terrestrial Energy IMSRs

Terrestrial Energy Inc., a developer of small modular nuclear power plants utilizing advanced reactor technology, and EnergySolutions, a leading supplier of environmental remediation services to the nuclear energy industry and owner of brownfield sites for new nuclear deployment, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the siting and deployment of Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) plants at EnergySolutions-owned sites.

The announcement follows in the footsteps of Holtec which is using the site of a closed nuclear power plant in Michigan it bought for decommissioning to reopen it along with the construction of twin SMRs on the site.

EnergySolutions is a supplier of nuclear decommissioning and decontamination, waste processing, and disposal services in the United States and Canada. In June 2023, EnergySolutions announced a study of former nuclear sites acquired by the company to determine potential locations for new nuclear generation.

Terrestrial Energy and EnergySolutions have assessed these sites in North America as potential locations for IMSR plants to benefit from accelerated deployment schedules. Under the terms of this MOU, the parties have agreed to evaluate these sites and select the ones most suitable.

EnergySolutions has operations in over 40 states, with a licensed landfill to dispose of radioactive waste approximately 60 miles west of Salt Lake City in Tooele County, Utah. It also operates a disposal site in Barnwell County, South Carolina. It has additional sites in the UK and Italy.

“This year we have observed a rapid increase in anticipated demand growth for clean, firm heat and power driven by significant load-growth from key sectors, such as data centers supporting AI operations, and industrials seeking distributed clean energy solutions to achieve their strategic goals,” said Kenneth Robuck, CEO of EnergySolutions.

“Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR plant is uniquely positioned to meet this growing demand at a time when small and modular nuclear power plants, leveraging advanced reactor technologies, are now in the spotlight as high-performance and transformative supply solutions.”

“EnergySolutions has a portfolio of sites and deep expertise to support the regulatory actions necessary for site selection and deployment of IMSR plants,” said Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy.

About the Terrestrial Energy Advanced Reactor

Terrestrial Energy’s Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) is an advanced reactor that employs a thermal-spectrum, graphite-moderated, near-atmospheric pressure, self-contained and integrated reactor design.

The standardized dual IMSR nuclear facility is designed to operate at high temperature and low pressure (near atmosphere) with a rated thermal capacity of 884 MW, providing 390 MWe (net) in electrical power at 585°C of thermal power, or a combination of both, for a broad range of commercial and industrial users over the 56-year plant life.

The IMSR fuel salt is selected to have robust coolant properties and intrinsically high radionuclide retention capabilities, where Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) is used (with less than 5% U-235).

The reactor uses graphite as a moderator. It has a seven year (84 month) fuel cycle for outages and uses LEU levels of enriched fuel which means it is not held hostage to the holdup of HALEU supplies facing other developers of advanced reactors.

imsr concept drawing

The IMSR design builds upon pioneering work carried out at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) from the 1950s to the 1970s, in particular the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE). The IMSR has completed Phase 2 of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) Vendor Design Review (VDR) in 2023 with no fundamental barriers to licensing identified and is engaged in the Standards Design Approval process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Key Milestones of the IMSR

Terrestrial Energy is engaged with regulators, suppliers and industrial partners to build, license and commission the first IMSR power plants in the early 2030s.

2017 Completion of CNSC pre-licensing Phase 1 Vendor Design Review
2023 CNSC VDR Phase 2 completion with no fundamental barriers to licensing were identified
2025 Planned – Commence licensing at first site in North America
2027 Planned – Commence construction of a first full-scale IMSR
2033 Planned – First IMSR plant in-service

Terrestrial Energy has three institutional investors including Sustainable Development Technology Canada, ARPA-E, and Science and Economic Development Canada.

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Newcleo Submits SMR Design for UK Safety Assessment

(WNN) France-headquartered reactor developer Newcleo has submitted an application to the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for approval to enter the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for its LFR-AS-200 small modular lead-cooled fast reactor.

Newcleo has now applied for a GDA of its commercial-scale 200 MWe lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR). It said it aims to complete a two-step GDA with the ONR and EA, including a fundamental assessment of its technology by the regulators. Subject to acceptance by the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the GDA would take around two years, starting in early 2025.

The first step of Paris-headquartered Newcleo’s delivery roadmap will be the design and construction of the first-of-a-kind (FOAK) 30 MWe lead-cooled fast reactor to be deployed in France by 2030, followed by a 200 MWe commercial unit in the UK by 2033.

At the same time, Newcleo will directly invest in a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) plant to fuel its reactors. In June 2022, Newcleo announced it had contracted France’s Orano for feasibility studies on the establishment of a MOX production plant.

Stéphane Calpena, global licensing and nuclear safety director at Newcleo, added: “This GDA submission in the UK follows 18 months of intensive technical discussions with the French regulator and international experts about the Newcleo LFR design, the MOX manufacturing plant design along with their related safety options. These moves in the UK and France reflects our continued commitment to deployment in France, in the UK, as well as our interest in sharing our technology and its advantages elsewhere across Europe.”

Generic Design Assessment (GDA) is a process carried out by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency (EA) – and where applicable Natural Resources Wales – to assess the safety, security, and environmental protection aspects of a nuclear power plant design that is intended to be deployed in Great Britain.

Successful completion of the GDA culminates in the issue of a Design Acceptance Confirmation from the ONR and a Statement of Design Acceptability from the EA. In May 2021, BEIS opened the GDA process to advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs).

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Aalo Atomics Gets Green Light for Next Steps at INL

greenlight Aalo Atomics announces its has received official approval from the U.S. Department of Energy-Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) to pursue DOE authorization for its experimental reactor, the Aalo-X, to be located at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Previously, DOE granted Aalo Atomics a Siting Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The experimental reactor will pave the way for future commercial applications of the Aalo-1 reactor and help us refine and validate this advanced technology that will ultimately power data centers, communities, and industries. The Aalo SMR is based on the design of the INL MARVEL R&D reactor.

As an experimental platform, Aalo-X will allow the firm to gather invaluable data on reactor performance, passive safety systems, fuel behavior, and sodium coolant behavior. These insights will feed directly into the development of the Aalo-1, which will be the firm’s flagship 30 MWth sodium-cooled factory mass-manufactured reactor, and slated for commercial deployment.

By testing the Aalo-X reactor at INL, Aalo Atomics can leverage the INL site’s world-class facilities and nuclear expertise, ensuring that we meet the highest standards of safety and quality. The lessons learned from Aalo-X will be instrumental in optimizing the performance and manufacturability of our commercial reactors.

Aalo-X will serve as the proving ground, helping to validate the design approach, including the use of inherently safe uranium zirconium hydride (UZrH) fuel and passive cooling systems in a shut-down scenario.

Over the next several months, the firm will work closely with INL and DOE to complete the Aalo-X design, secure site approvals, and begin the next phase of development. The firm’s goal is to demonstrate Aalo-X at full power by 2027, providing the data necessary to complete the Aalo-1 reactor for commercial deployment by the end of the decade.

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NANO Nuclear Signs MOU with DOE/INL for Its Microreactor

NANO Nuclear Energy Inc.announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office to evaluate Idaho National Laboratory facilities for potential siting, construction, and operation of its portable microreactors.

The MOU outlines several core activities, such as site evaluations, support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing activities, and the development of operational and security plans, including hazardous material management.

NANO Nuclear and the DOE will collaborate to assess the suitability of INL’s infrastructure and secure appropriate land-use agreements for supporting the experimental reactors, focusing on site selection, feasibility studies, and thorough security and emergency planning. Each party will be responsible for its own costs, as specified in the MOU. The MOU will remain in effect for five years, with an option for renewal.

“Partnering with the DOE and Idaho National Laboratory on this initiative underscores our commitment to developing advanced nuclear technologies that meet the highest standards for safety and environmental stewardship,” said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy.

The MOU also includes provisions for regulatory coordination, communication strategies, and efforts to ensure environmental compliance under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), with both parties committed to adhering to all applicable local, state, and federal laws.

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Orano to Supply MOX Fuel Assemblies For Two Reactors in Japan

(NucNet) French nuclear fuel company Orano has signed two contracts for manufacturing of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel with Japanese industrial company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Orano will supply 40 MOX fuel assemblies for the Genkai-3 nuclear power plant operated by Kyushu Electric, and 24 MOX assemblies for the Ikata-3 nuclear power plant operated by Shikoku Electric. Orano said the fuel assemblies will be manufactured at its Melox plant at Chusclan in southern France. MHI has previously supplied 57 MOX fuel assemblies to Japanese utilities.

Ikata-3 is a 846-MW pressurized water reactor (PWR) which was first connected to the grid in 1994. Genkai-3 is 1,127-MW PWR unit which saw first grid connection in 1993.

what is MOX fuel

What is MOX Fuel? Image: US NRC

MOX fuel is a type of nuclear fuel made by blending plutonium, typically from reprocessed nuclear waste, with natural or depleted uranium. It provides a way to recycle plutonium, reducing the need for fresh uranium and lowering the volume of high-level nuclear waste. Such fuel is used in some conventional nuclear reactors and fast reactors, offering an efficient way to harness existing nuclear material while contributing to waste management.

Orano said that to date, 44 reactors worldwide have generated electricity from MOX fuel since 1972. Among the 33 operable nuclear reactors in Japan, 13 have now resumed operations after meeting post-Fukushima safety standards.

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General Atomics Completes First Round of Testing on New Ceramic Fuel Cladding

This new high-temperature ceramic fuel cladding tested at Idaho National Laboratory could potentially transform the way nuclear fuels are made.

General Atomics recently completed its first round of testing at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) on unfueled samples of a new high-temperature ceramic fuel cladding that could potentially transform the way nuclear fuels are made. The initial experiment is part of a series of tests with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to commercialize the fuel cladding early next decade.

New Test Results

General Atomics is developing “SiGA” cladding that is made from silicon carbide. The high temperature ceramic material can withstand temperatures up to 3800F, which is roughly 500F higher than the melting point of the zirconium alloy widely used in operating light water reactors.

The first set of unfueled SiGA rodlets recently completed a 120-day irradiation cycle in INL’s Advanced Test Reactor and showed no initial signs of structural damage, leakage, or significant mass changes. The rodlets will undergo additional post-irradiation examination at the lab to better inform future experiments.

“This testing provides initial validation that SiGA cladding can effectively contain the fuel and any fission products that are produced under irradiation and high temperature conditions,” said Christina Back, vice president of nuclear technologies and materials at General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems.

“This is a key milestone on SiGA cladding’s development path to enhance the safety of the existing U.S. fleet of light water reactors.”

What’s Next?

General Atomics is progressing through three types of irradiation experiments that include unfueled, non-uranium fueled, and uranium fueled rodlets. Future testing on fueled SiGA rodlets in INL, ORNL, and MIT research reactors will eventually lead to irradiation in commercial power reactors using full-length, 12-foot fuel rods in the next six years. The performance data will be used to support Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing.

DOE previously supported the development and demonstration of SiGA cladding through its Accident Tolerant Fuel Program. Beginning in FY2025, SiGA cladding will be funded through DOE’s new Next Generation Fuels Program, which supports industry through financial assistance and lab-based research and development to significantly outperform today’s fuel by focusing on developing and maturing longer-term, high-risk, high-reward fuel concepts.

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Facebook Joins the Club ~ Nuclear Power for Data Centers