Can small modular reactors meet data center power demand?

"In the coming years, a growing number of new data centers will require some form of dedicated power generation to supplement or replace the regional grid. Analyst firm Gartner the rise in demand for on-site power generation at data centers and the surge in power-hungry AI workloads is accelerating this shift. While many are turning to renewables such as and wind, nuclear is increasingly being recognized as essential for reliable, carbon-free baseload power."

"Small modular reactors (SMRs) are emerging as a potential long-term solution because they provide a reliable and scalable high-capacity energy source, ensuring that uptime and data integrity is maintained. Traditional nuclear builds have become synonymous with complexities, overruns, vast budgets and stakeholder opposition. "Famously, in 2015, the proposals for Hinkley Point C were deemed so unrealistic that they were likened to attempting to 'build a cathedral within a cathedral'," notes David Philp, chief value officer at Bentley Systems EMEA. While they provide immense baseload power, their large scale, long construction timelines and operational inflexibility make them ill-suited to the rapidly evolving needs of the AI industry."

"SMRs, however, present a more agile and flexible alternative. "They offer significantly faster deployment times, a much smaller physical footprint, can be located in a wider variety of sites, and are exceptionally well-suited to the dynamic power demands of high-density AI data centers," says Philp. Due to their modular nature, with components fabricated in a factory and assembled on-site, construction timelines are significantly reduced - typically a few years, compared to five to ten for large scale nuclear power plants."

Data centers increasingly need dedicated on-site power generation as AI workloads drive higher energy demand and strain regional grids. Renewables such as solar and wind are common, but nuclear is being recognized for reliable, carbon-free baseload power. Small modular reactors (SMRs) offer a scalable, high-capacity energy source that helps maintain uptime and data integrity for high-density AI facilities. SMRs enable faster deployment, smaller physical footprints, and greater siting flexibility because factory-fabricated components are assembled on-site, reducing construction from five-to-ten years to typically a few years. Standardized SMR designs aim to streamline licensing and enable repeatable deployment across multiple locations. Large conventional nuclear projects face complexity, overruns, long timelines, and stakeholder opposition, making them less suitable for rapidly evolving AI needs.

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