A nuclear reactor designed specifically for data centres

Data centres require a large amount of energy to operate, so it is necessary to guarantee a supply twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and from a source that emits low carbon emissions. Nuclear power appears to be the most suitable option at this point.

Large data centres are a reality, and even more so now with the rise of artificial intelligence. They are a great technological advance, but they are also a serious energy problem. For this reason, for example, the US Department of Energy (DOE) is considering the possibility that companies with large data centres dedicated to training AI models install a small nuclear power plant nearby to meet their energy needs.

In this regard, the US company Aalo Atomics has developed a prototype of an extra-modular Generation IV nuclear fission reactor, called the Aalo Pod. It has much in common with Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), but differs from them in that it is even more modular and has greater flexibility, as it can operate independently of the grid, coupled to it, or in a hybrid mode. In this way, data centre owners can use the strategy that best meets their power needs.

In the photo, which is a recreation of this prototype, it looks more like a linear particle accelerator than a conventional nuclear fission reactor, although this is not surprising given its interesting structure. Each Aalo Pod incorporates five Aalo-1 micro-reactors paired with a single electricity-generating turbine.

In principle, it can provide a power output of 50 MWe. However, with its modularity, it can be scaled up to be capable of producing several hundred or thousands of MWe.

It can therefore be said to have the advantages of an SMR, such as large-scale production or lower cost, plus the fact that each microreactor can be refuelled at any time without the need to stop the others with which it is paired, and is sodium-cooled, so there is no need for a water source.

At the moment, the Aalo Pod is a prototype that Aalo Atomics hopes to turn into a working reactor in the next few years.

News source: Aalo Atomics