NUCLEAR MARKETS | DATA CENTRES
Above: Data centre planners expressing interest in SMR technology wield considerable influence that would potentially benefit reactor vendors
can expand the offering and enhance economic returns.
For example, alongside hydrogen, the combination of SMRs and data centres yields significant heat outputs which can be utilised in other applications without distribution losses or discharge to the atmosphere. These may include low grade heat for local residential/commercial developments or district energy networks within a radius of up to around 20 km and agricultural use in green houses as well as higher grade heat for various process and manufacturing industries.
Mutual growth prospects When brought together to support the growth of a data centre provider, smaller modules such as an MMR have the benefit of closely and economically matching lower data centre loads at the initiation of the microgrid. But as the microgrid and data centre growth evolves, multiples of larger SMRs that can be deployed together with initial units would offer resilience, diversity and load following capabilities. Concluding, the report says that establishing a SMR- based scheme requires multiple stakeholders, local
communities and regulatory bodies to collaborate closely. However, the authors argue that with timely formation of energy partnerships and stakeholder engagement, it will be possible for SMR powered data centres to initiate a long-term programme of infrastructure building that offers the host community meaningful employment not only during construction and refurbishment phase, but consistently throughout the lifecycle of the industrial cluster. Notably, SMRs can provide zero-emission, reliable, and sustainable energy to data centre communities to support their long-term growth. As a result, SMRs can enable the data centre sector to become the foundation of a new industrial revolution and a driving force behind new energy and infrastructure building partnerships. This collaboration will lead to significant investments in regional infrastructure, the creation of meaningful and lasting employment and the consolidation of international fuel and resource supply chains. At the same time, the authors say, data centre planners expressing interest in SMR technology wield considerable influence. That is significant and dearly needed by SMR vendors that could use this opportunity to accelerate deployment and bolster the business case. ■
Above: Tractebel, parent company of RED, envisages many applications for its SMR design including data centres 32 | April 2024 |
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