Advanced nuclear startup Oklo announced plans Wednesday to power data centers across the country operated by Switch in one of the largest corporate power agreements in history.
The move underscores the spike in demand for low-carbon electricity because of artificial intelligence and emissions targets of technology companies. Under the the nonbinding agreement between the companies, Oklo’s small modular nuclear reactors — each expected to produce up to 50 megawatts of power — would supply electricity to data centers serving clients ranging from Dell Technologies to FedEx.
Oklo, which is chaired by ChatGPT founder Sam Altman, said it intends to deploy 12 gigawatts of nuclear power for the data centers through 2044. The deal would provide generation equivalent to 11 large nuclear reactors.
“The relationship with Oklo underscores our commitment to deploying advanced nuclear power at a transformative scale for our data centers, further enhancing our offerings of one of the world’s most advanced data center infrastructures to current and future Switch clients,” Switch founder and CEO Rob Roy said in a press release.
