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While wider adoption of SMRs will require both technical and regulatory developments, data center hyperscalers see potential. In October 2024, Google signed“ the world’ s first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple SMRs”, intended to bring Kairos Power’ s first SMR online by 2030.
Even nuclear fusion could play a role in powering data centers by the 2030s. In June 2025, Google signed a deal to purchase 200MW of power from Commonwealth Fusion Systems. Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an MIT spinout, has raised over $ 2 billion in funding to date, and is currently building a fusion prototype facility based on the tokamak design. According to IDTechEx’ s Fusion Energy Market research, the fusion industry has grown over the last five years from experimental reactors to a burgeoning alternative energy industry, with around 50 startups and over $ 10 billion in private investment to date.
Enhanced geothermal
Worldwide, the number of sites suitable for conventional geothermal power plants is limited. However, enhanced geothermal technologies seek to increase the number of viable locations. Both Google and Meta are supporting upcoming enhanced geothermal installations which aim to demonstrate commercial viability, deploying technologies from startups such as Sage Geosystems and Fervo Energy.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an MIT spinout, has raised over $ 2 billion in funding to date, and is currently building a fusion prototype facility based on the tokamak design
... the‘ AI arms race’ is set to continue
Grid-scale Li-ion batteries
Battery energy storage would increase the number of hours per day that data centers can be powered by solar / wind energy. Over the past decade, Li-ion batteries have become an increasingly important stationary energy storage technology, suitable for gridscale applications. When scaling up these technologies, players are prioritizing different performance characteristics such as storage duration or energy density.
In July 2025, it was announced that Redwood Materials is collaborating with General Motors to explore using GM’ s USmanufactured and second-life electric vehicle batteries for stationary and grid-scale energy storage repurposing. This was reportedly motivated by accelerating US electricity demand driven by AI and the electrification of transportation and industry.
Gas power with carbon capture
New fossil fuel power capacity will also inevitably be brought online to support the growth of AI. Where green solutions are desired, these facilities can be paired with carbon capture technologies to reduce emissions by over 90 percent. In December 2024, Exxon Mobil announced plans to construct a new 1.5GW natural gas-fired power plant coupled with carbon capture dedicated to powering data centers. Carbon capture solutions, especially those based on amine solvents, are mature technologically but high costs mean business models have typically struggled historically. IDTechEx’ s Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Markets report found that economies of scale and developing carbon markets are the key for scaling up CO 2 capture.
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