Google Unveils Nuclear Reactor Project To Power Its Data Centers

‘This agreement will enable 50 megawatts of nuclear energy on TVA’s grid that powers our data centers in Montgomery County, Tennessee and Jackson County, Alabama,’ says Amanda Corio, Google’s data center energy leader.

Google unveiled plans Monday to launch an advanced nuclear reactor plant connected to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s electrical grid to help power Google’s data centers in the region.

“This agreement will enable 50 megawatts of nuclear energy on TVA’s grid that powers our data centers in Montgomery County, Tennessee and Jackson County, Alabama,” said Google’s Amanda Corio, global head of data center energy, in a statement Monday.

The TVA will purchase 50 megawatts of power from Kairos Power’s Hermes 2 reactor, with the collaboration aimed to meet Google’s data center electricity demand with nuclear energy starting in 2030.

In October, Google signed a deal to buy power from several modular reactors to meet the electricity demand for its artificial intelligence offerings.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based AI and cloud giant began a long-term relationship with Kairos to unlock up to 500 megawatts of nuclear power for the U.S. electricity system through multiple deployments of their small modular reactors.

“With this next step, we are creating a three-party solution where energy customers, utilities and technology developers work together to advance new technologies that can help meet the world’s growing energy needs with reliable, affordable capacity,” Google’s Corio said.

Google Data Centers

Google’s data centers house massive amounts of IT infrastructure that power its cloud solutions and services across the globe.

Google pours billions of dollars annually into building new data centers or expanding existing ones, with data centers throughout North America, Asia, Europe and South America.

Google parent company Alphabet generated $96 billion in total revenue during the second quarter of 2025, up 14 percent year over year.

“With strong and growing demand for our cloud products and services, we are increasing our investment in capital expenditures in 2025 to approximately $85 billion and are excited by the opportunity ahead,” said Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai during its second-quarter earnings report this month.

Details Of Google’s Nuclear Plan With TVA

Regarding the Google and TVA collaboration, the TVA will purchase electricity from Kairos Power’s Hermes 2 plant, scheduled to begin operations in 2030.

In the initial phase, Google will procure clean energy attributes from the plant through TVA to help power its data centers in the region with locally sourced clean energy, every hour of every day, Google said.

“Additionally, this project will continue to expand pathways to economic opportunity in Oak Ridge—the site of the biggest technological breakthroughs and advancements in nuclear history,” said Corio.

Kairos Power’s Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant will help re-establish Oak Ridge as a nuclear innovation hub, including through new programs developed in partnership with the University of Tennessee and other local universities to grow local workforce talent for high-paying jobs as plant operators and engineers, Google said.