TerraPower and Sabey reach deal for deployment of Natrium plants

Author: Simon Rowley

TerraPower, a nuclear innovation company, and Sabey Data Centers (SDC), a data centre developer, owner and operator, have announced a memorandum of understanding to develop a strategic collaboration agreement to utilise advanced nuclear Natrium plants into SDC’s current and future data centre operations.

TerraPower broke ground on America’s first advanced nuclear project in 2024, near a retiring coal facility in Wyoming. The strategic collaboration includes exploring new Natrium plants in the Rocky Mountain region, as well as Texas, to support growing power needs for SDC-owned data centres. Due to the breadth of the opportunity, TerraPower and SDC will explore multiple project execution structures to meet the exponential demand in data centre energy needs with TerraPower’s innovative advanced nuclear and storage Natrium technology.

“At its heart, TerraPower is an innovation-driven company, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Sabey to address the surging energy demands of data centres with clean, reliable and adaptable solutions like the Natrium technology,” explains Chris Levesque, TerraPower President and CEO. “The energy sector is transforming at an unprecedented pace after decades of business as usual, and meaningful progress will require strategic collaboration across industries. Together, we can ensure advanced nuclear technology plays a vital role in securing a clean, resilient energy grid.”

“Sabey Data Centers is dedicated to pioneering sustainable energy solutions to support our customers’ growth,” adds Tim Mirick, President of Sabey Data Centers. “Our strategic collaboration with TerraPower represents a substantial move toward integrating clean, innovative power technologies into the heart of our operations.”

“This strategic relationship exemplifies the forward-thinking collaboration necessary to meet the evolving energy demands of our digital future,” notes Jeffrey Kanne, Vice Chairman of Sabey Data Centers and President and CEO of National Real Estate Advisors.

The rise of AI and data centres is projected to increase US electricity demand by 323 terawatt hours by 2030. The Natrium technology is the first advanced nuclear technology to be deployed in the US and features a 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor with a patented molten salt-based energy storage system. The storage technology can boost the system’s output to 500 MW of power when needed, and can be customised to match specific site needs. The energy storage system is designed to keep base output steady, ensuring constant reliability, and can quickly ramp up when demand peaks. It is reportedly the only advanced reactor design with this unique feature, and is well suited to meet the power demands of data centres.

SDC is one of the largest private data centre providers in the world, with over 20 years of experience in developing, constructing and operating data centers across the nation. It has pioneered sustainability within the data centre industry with a focus on whole-building energy efficiency and have a goal of achieving carbon-free energy operations across their portfolio.

The Natrium technology is the first mover in the advanced reactor sector and is well positioned to support the dramatic new energy demand for data centres. Natrium is the only advanced nuclear technology with a construction permit application for a commercial reactor pending with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the only advanced nuclear developer to begin construction on a commercial project in the US.

The first Natrium plant is being developed through the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), a public-private partnership. That project is expected to be online in 2030 and will be the first commercial, utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant in the US.

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