Amazon Adds to Big Tech's Nuclear Push

Key Takeaways

• Amazon said Wednesday that it is making a trio of investments in nuclear energy efforts.
• The investments are meant to help meet Amazon's rising electricity demands, and support its transition to clean energy, the company said.
• The investments include both private and public companies, and will support the development of small nuclear reactors in Virginia and Washington.

Amazon (AMZN) is the latest tech giant to invest in nuclear power to help meet its rising electricity demand and power its energy-demanding artificial intelligence projects and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Amazon on Wednesday announced a trio of investments to explore the development of or support existing nuclear facilities, specifically small modular reactors. The reactors are smaller and easier to build than traditional large nuclear power plants, which the International Atomic Energy Agency says can be built in a wider variety of places.

The investments include projects in Washington state and Virginia, with both state-run and private utility companies like Dominion Energy (D) and Energy Northwest, and an investment into a company developing new nuclear technology. The energy created will be used to power Amazon facilities and surrounding communities.

Dominion projects that power demand in Virginia is growing by 5% per year, and expects it to double over the next 15 years.

Amazon also said it is investing in X-Energy, which is developing new technology for "next generation" SMRs, as part of a $500 million funding round that also includes the University of Michigan, Ares Management and Ken Griffin—CEO of the Citadel hedge fund.

Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google and Microsoft (MSFT) have also announced nuclear power investments over the last month, as the tech giants search for clean energy sources as electricity demand is projected to continue rising to power data centers and AI technology.

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