Uranium miner Cameco Corp’s chief executive said on Tuesday projected demand from data centers powering technology like generative AI will likely be a boost for nuclear energy.
Over the past year, big technology companies have been racing to build data centers needed to power applications such as OpenAI’s viral chatbot, ChatGPT, as they try to capitalize on what is expected to be the industry’s next key growth driver.“Gone are the days of rolling out new technology without worrying about future potential runway environmental impacts.
Many industrial power users and tech sector experts are signing agreements to ensure their facilities can access zero-carbon and reliable nuclear energy now and into the future, he said. Overall, power use from the thousands of giant computing warehouses that comprise data centers is expected to triple globally from less than 15 terawatt-hours in 2023 to 46 TWh this year, according to Morgan Stanley Research.Funding has been negotiated with members of the Lundin family as well as Canadian mining billionaires Richard Warke and Eric Sprott.The US, UK, Germany, France, Canada, Japan and Italy agreed on the date after talks on Monday held under Italy’s presidency.
Even in an optimistic low emission scenario for 2050, more than half the world’s copper mines will be in areas exposed to drought risk that’s deemed significant.