Amazon, Google Back Goal to Triple Nuclear Capacity
News Desk
Islamabad: At the CERAWeek conference in Houston on Wednesday, major companies such as Amazon and Google pledged to support the goal of tripling the world’s nuclear energy capacity by 2050. Shale company Occidental and Japanese heavy machinery manufacturer IHI Corp also joined the commitment.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, speaking at the conference on Tuesday, emphasized that the nuclear energy sector is on the brink of significant growth. The World Nuclear Association (WNA), which facilitated the pledge, expects more industries, including maritime, aviation, and oil and gas, to support the initiative in the coming months.
This pledge builds on a similar commitment made by over 30 countries in 2023, aiming to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050. Currently, nuclear energy accounts for 9% of the world’s electricity from 439 reactors, according to the WNA.
Nuclear power is increasingly seen as a viable solution for energy-intensive industries like data centers, with Big Tech companies already securing multi-billion-dollar deals with utilities. Uranium prices, used in nuclear technology, reached a 16-year high in January 2024 due to supply concerns and rising demand, spurred by disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the global supply of uranium remains constrained, as production is heavily concentrated in Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia, which together accounted for two-thirds of the world’s output in 2022, the WNA reported.
As of early 2025, there were 411 nuclear reactors worldwide, with a total capacity of 371 gigawatts. Amazon, which has already invested over $1 billion in nuclear energy projects, is also exploring small modular reactor technologies.
