TerraPower, the nuclear startup founded by Bill Gates, said it will reveal its first data‑center power project later this year. The facility would be the company’s second plant, following a Natrium reactor already under construction in Wyoming, and would build on a January agreement in which Meta committed to purchase eight of TerraPower’s Natrium units. Groundbreaking is slated for 2027.
TerraPower’s Natrium design is a 345‑megawatt molten‑salt‑cooled small modular reactor that incorporates integrated thermal energy storage. The reactor operates at a U.S. average capacity factor of about 92.5 % and can adjust output at roughly 10 % of its rated power per minute, a rate cited by the National Laboratory of the Rockies for comparable SMRs. This ramp capability lets the plant follow the rapid load swings typical of AI training and inference workloads, reducing reliance on separate battery banks. No benchmark scores, context‑window sizes, or licensing terms were disclosed in the announcement.
- Electrical output: 345 MW
- Coolant: molten salt
- Storage: integrated thermal energy storage system
- Ramp rate: ~10 % of rated output per minute
- Capacity factor: ~92.5 % (U.S. average)
- Customer: undisclosed data‑center project; Meta has option for eight Natrium plants
- Expected start‑of‑construction: 2027
Why this matters
The Natrium reactor’s built‑in thermal storage addresses a key mismatch between nuclear’s steady‑state output and the bursty power draw of GPU‑heavy AI workloads, potentially lowering the need for costly battery buffers. However, the project’s economics hinge on whether mass‑produced SMRs can achieve the capital‑cost reductions that startups anticipate, and the absence of disclosed licensing or power‑purchase terms makes it hard to assess financial viability or regulatory timelines.