[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] Amazon, the world's leading cloud service provider, is increasing its investment in small modular reactors (SMRs) to secure the power needed for its artificial intelligence (AI) data center operations. Following aggressive moves by Microsoft and Google, Amazon's actions signal the intensification of a power acquisition race among major tech firms.

On the 16th (local time), Amazon announced a contract with Dominion Energy, an energy company based in Virginia, for SMR development. This partnership is expected to secure over 300 MW (megawatts) of power in the future. Additionally, Amazon has contracted with Energy Northwest in Washington State to support four SMR projects, which will initially produce 320 MW of power, with plans to increase the total capacity to 960 MW.

Furthermore, Amazon is investing in X-Energy, a company supplying advanced reactors and fuel for the reactors being constructed by Energy Northwest. Amazon is leading a funding round of approximately $500 million (around 682.3 billion KRW) and plans to pursue power projects exceeding 5 GW (gigawatts) by 2039. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) referred to this investment as “the largest SMR project to date.”
 

 

 

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