Google has announced its intention to buy electricity from an upcoming nuclear fusion power plant, a development that embodies the long-sought quest for clean energy pursued by scientists for over fifty years.
Although the fusion sector celebrated a momentous achievement in recent years, the technology still has to demonstrate its technical feasibility and commercial viability. Google’s recent announcement indicates its faith in the potential to utilize nuclear fusion to power its extensive data centers.
This announcement comes on the heels of Google’s most recent sustainability report released on Friday, highlighting a troubling rise in greenhouse gas emissions, even amidst its pledges for clean energy. In an optimistic scenario, nuclear fusion facilities might not be operational quickly enough to assist Google in achieving its emission reduction targets by 2030.
“It’s a world-changing technology in our view.”
Michael Terrell, Google’s head of advanced energy, expressed his views during a call with reporters on Friday, saying, “It’s a world-changing technology in our view. Yes, there are serious physics and engineering challenges that we still have to overcome to make it commercially viable and scalable. But that’s something we want to invest in now to realize that future.”
In detail, Google has committed to procuring 200 megawatts of “future carbon-free power” from Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a private enterprise developing the fusion plant and in which Google holds an investment stake. Such offtake agreements are typical in financing new energy projects, but the unpredictability of the nuclear fusion timeline presents a unique challenge.
Researchers in nuclear fusion strive to replicate the process by which stars produce light and heat. In the sun, hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium, releasing vast amounts of energy. Achieving a controlled version of this reaction on Earth could yield a nearly limitless source of clean energy without carbon emissions.
However, this process necessitates extreme temperatures—above 100 million degrees Celsius. The scientific community only managed to attain a net energy gain from fusion last year, and so far, this achievement has been credited solely to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Traditional nuclear power plants employ fission, which splits atoms for energy, leaving behind radioactive waste.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems projects that its first fusion power plant could connect to the Virginia electricity grid by the early 2030s. This state is also known as “data center alley,” where many tech giants have expanded facilities to enhance AI development. Yet experts consulted by Technology News believe that it may take decades before fusion energy becomes commercially viable. CFS is currently developing its pilot plant in Massachusetts.
Google and CFS are not the only players vying for a stake in fusion energy. Microsoft recently struck a deal to acquire power from a fusion generator under development by Helion Energy, with an expected completion date of 2028. In recent years, around $8 billion from mostly private investors has been allocated to fusion startups, highlighting the growing interest in this technology, as reported by the Washington Post.
Initially, Google revealed its investment in CFS to support research and development back in 2021. The company is now embarking on a second capital infusion, although specific financial details remain undisclosed. Additionally, Google has invested in another fusion venture, TAE Technologies, since 2015, but this agreement with CFS marks its first direct offtake agreement in the fusion sector.
In 2021, Google committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 50% by the end of the decade, relative to a 2019 benchmark. However, its latest sustainability report indicates that carbon emissions have surged by over 50% since 2019, attributed in part to the company’s intensified focus on AI.
The agreement for 200 megawatts with CFS is a small portion of Google’s overall carbon-free energy purchases. Since 2010, the company has entered into over 170 contracts for more than 22,000 megawatts of clean energy, predominantly sourced from wind and solar projects that are considered more viable in the near term.
