How to solve the problem of electricity consumption in the computing power center? Tsinghua University collaborates with U.S. businessmen to develop microreactors

The development of AI computing power and data centers has driven demand for electricity. National Tsinghua University signed a cooperation agreement with NuCube Energy of the United States today (19th) to evaluate the feasibility of research, application and deployment of micro modular reactors (MMR). Ye Zongyu, dean of the Academy of Atomic Sciences at National Tsinghua University, said that microreactors are expected to become a self-contained power option for enterprises in the future, and he also hopes to drive Taiwan's traditional industries such as machinery and electrical machinery to join the international nuclear energy supply chain.

Ye Zongyu said that NuCube Energy plans to build a 1MW NuSun-1 microreactor at Idaho State University in the United States in 2029. Tsinghua University hopes to introduce it within 2 years after completing the commercial transfer in the United States. If the progress goes well, it will be installed at Tsinghua University as soon as 2031. The on-campus research reactor is expected to be decommissioned in 2040, and the cooperation will also assess the needs for continued teaching, research, boron neutron capture therapy, and isotope manufacturing.

Ye Zongyu said that large commercial reactors and small modular reactors (SMR) and MMR can be used in parallel, and their application fields are different. Electric power companies such as Taipower can evaluate large-scale commercial units, while enterprises can evaluate smaller-scale reactors based on their own power needs. Taking the data center as an example, he believes that multiple micro-units can be used to supply power, and units of hundreds of MW are not necessarily required.

Gao Weiyuan, president of Tsinghua University, said that semiconductors and high technology are important pillars of Taiwan's economy, but many job opportunities still come from traditional industries. Ye Zongyu has led a team to the United States for exchanges in the past year. Traditional industry players actively participated, hoping to understand whether SMR and MMR can bring new business opportunities, make good use of Taiwan's existing technology and manufacturing base, further evaluate applications in Taiwan, and improve people's living standards. He also emphasized that Tsinghua University will continue to work hard for Taiwan.

Ye Zongyu pointed out that Taiwan's industry should not only focus on the domestic market, but should cooperate with foreign developers to strive for equipment and component supply opportunities and expand the global market with manufacturers. This is also an important purpose of promoting this cooperation.

NuCube Energy representative Rabitti said that in recent years, the number of companies investing in the development and testing of new nuclear reactors in the United States has increased, and the speed of technological development is impressive, but ultimately it is still up to the market to decide which technologies are suitable. He said that the company's first deployment is planned for the end of 2029, and it is expected that more nuclear energy units will come online thereafter.

Regarding the issue of nuclear waste, Ye Zongyu admitted frankly that micro-scale reactors will still produce used nuclear fuel. He advocated dry storage first and looked forward to the future development of technologies such as fast neutron reactors for reuse.

Rabitti said that the company provides reactor technology, and the issue of nuclear waste must be evaluated and dealt with by the Taiwan government, and believes that the volume of nuclear waste is relatively limited. This cooperation is a development and feasibility assessment, and the actual setup and nuclear waste disposal arrangements have yet to be clarified.