Global demand for electricity is growing by 4 percent per year, partly due to AI-driven data centers. Equinix is signing agreements with four nuclear companies to secure its power needs for the future.
Equinix is opting for a diversified approach and signing agreements with four nuclear companies. The data center giant sees safe and efficient nuclear energy as a promising solution to growing energy needs.
Equinix already signed a deal with Oklo in 2024 for 500MW of small modular reactors (SMRs), making it the first data center operator to sign such an agreement. Three partners joined this week.
Radiant will supply 20 Kaleidos microreactors that are transportable and can be installed within days. ULC-Energy with Rolls-Royce SMR will provide up to 250 MWe in the Netherlands. Stellaria is developing a molten salt reactor that will deliver 500 MWe for European data centers.
Pressure on the electricity grid is growing
The combination of electrification, data center expansion driven by artificial intelligence, and industrial growth is putting unprecedented pressure on energy grids worldwide. The International Energy Agency predicts that electricity consumption will increase by 4 percent annually until 2027.
“Access to round-the-clock electricity is critical to support the infrastructure that powers everything from AI-driven drug discovery to cloud-based video streaming,” said Raouf Abdel, Executive Vice President of Global Operations at Equinix.
Fuel cells as a bridge
While nuclear technology is developing, Equinix is also investing in proven alternatives. Together with Bloom Energy, the company is rolling out solid oxide fuel cells to more than 100MW of capacity across 19 data centers in six US states. These fuel cells are highly efficient and help Equinix avoid 285,000 MTCO2e emissions. The company is also saving 382 billion gallons of embedded water use.
Equinix aims to be fully powered by clean energy by 2030. Currently, the company gets 96 percent of its energy from renewable sources, with 250 locations already using 100 percent renewable energy.
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