Microsoft's recentStart recruiting nuclear energy technology experts, plans to generate power through nuclear reactions to drive its data centers that support Azure cloud services and artificial intelligence application services.
Microsoft's job postings indicate that it will recruit a nuclear energy technology manager to evaluate and implement small modular reactors and microreactors around the world, using nuclear fission to generate energy to drive the kinetic energy required for data centers.
In May of this year, Microsoft announced a power purchase agreement with fusion technology startup Helion, slated to begin purchasing electricity from Helion in 5. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was also an early investor in Helion. Helion itself focuses not only on nuclear fusion technology but also on magneto-inertial fusion, which fuses neutrons to produce helium-2028, a fusion fuel, thereby generating low-cost, clean electricity using fuel derived entirely from water.
Because small nuclear reactors are smaller than traditional nuclear reactors, they are cheaper and faster to manufacture. Their modular design makes them easier to deploy and deploy, making them a popular method for generating energy through nuclear reactions. Furthermore, because nuclear reactions produce virtually no carbon dioxide, they are considered by many countries to be a key source of clean electricity. If Microsoft can successfully utilize nuclear reactions to power its data centers, it could accelerate its goal of achieving zero-carbon emissions operations.
