Google has signed a strategic agreement with advanced nuclear power developer, Elementl Power, to develop three nuclear energy projects in the US.

Google has committed early-stage development capital to advance the development of the three projects. Each project is expected to generate at least 600MW of capacity, with Google provided the option for commercial offtake when the projects reach operational status.

"Google is committed to catalyzing projects that strengthen the power grids where we operate, and advanced nuclear technology provides reliable, baseload, 24/7 energy," said Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of data center energy, Google. "Our collaboration with Elementl Power enhances our ability to move at the speed required to meet this moment of AI and American innovation."

The partners intend to work in collaboration with utility and regulated power partners to identify and advance new projects. Elementl has said the agreement is expected to support its long-term goal of more than 10GW of nuclear power in the US market. The Google deal will represent 1.8GW of that total.

Elementl will lead the engineering, procurement, and construction process on the projects and engage with potential project partners on further sites for development.

"Innovative partnerships like this are necessary to mobilize the capital required to build new nuclear projects, which are critical to deliver safe, affordable, and clean baseload power and help companies advance their long-term net-zero goals," said Elementl Power chairman and CEO Chris Colbert. "We look forward to working with Google to execute these projects and bring safe, carbon-free, baseload electricity to the grid."

The configuration of Elementl’s advanced nuclear technology has not been disclosed. It is not clear whether the ‘advanced’ refers to generation IV small modular reactors (SMR), or is an entirely different product.

The company claims it is ‘technologically agnostic’ and aims to be an independent power producer. With the majority of SMRs at the 300MW capacity mark or lower, it could mean that Elementl intends to stack more than one reactor at each site, to achieve the 600MW nameplate capacity of each project.

Elementl is headquartered in Washington DC and is backed by Energy Impact Partners, a global investment firm, with more than $4 billion in assets under management.

The deal is Google’s second with an advanced nuclear reactor developer, following an agreement last year with Kairos Power. The corporate agreement will see Google purchase 500MW of power across six to seven reactors in the US market. It is expected that deployment will commence by 2030 through to 2035.

Kairos uses a molten-salt cooling system, combined with a ceramic, pebble-type fuel, to transport heat to a steam turbine and generate power. Earlier this year, the firm completed the design, construction, and installation of the reactor vessel for its second non-nuclear Engineering Test Unit.