Breakingviews - Mini nuclear reactor rush has a short half-life

NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The rush to produce mini nuclear reactors on the cheap might have a short half-life. In search of vast quantities of power for the data centers fueling artificial intelligence, Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab have backed a goal, opens new tab to triple the world’s nuclear power capacity by 2050. The prospects for nuclear are indeed brightening, but it is still more expensive and far slower to build than renewables. The upstart approach of making smaller, identikit reactors will struggle even harder to close that gap.

Ever since the 1980s, developed nations have built few traditional nuclear plants, in part thanks to their tendency towards enormous cost and time overruns. Two reactors in Georgia that switched on in 2023 and 2024 took 15 years to construct and came in at over twice their initial $14 billion budget.

Yet the promise of an emissions-free source that doesn’t waver when the sun goes down or the wind calms keeps tempting technologists. Moreover, electricity demand worldwide rose 4% last year, according to the International Energy Agency, as new data centers switch on and consume power. This rising tide is lifting all forms of generation.

Enter the small modular reactor, or SMR. Theoretically, these can reduce costs by simplifying the underlying design into a set of mass-produced, standard parts made off-site. About 95 companies are actively chasing this dream, according to John Ketchum, chief executive of NextEra (NEE.N), opens new tab, the nation’s largest power developer. Big n...
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