Navigating Economies of Scale and Multiples for Nuclear-Powered Data Centers and Other Applications with High Service Availability Needs

Botros N. Hanna (), Abdalla Abou-Jaoude, Nahuel Guaita, Paul Talbot and Christopher Lohse
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Botros N. Hanna: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83401, USA
Abdalla Abou-Jaoude: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83401, USA
Nahuel Guaita: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83401, USA
Paul Talbot: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83401, USA
Christopher Lohse: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83401, USA

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-37

Abstract: Nuclear energy is increasingly being considered for such targeted energy applications as data centers in light of their high capacity factors and low carbon emissions. This paper focuses on assessing the tradeoffs between economies of scale versus mass production to identify promising reactor sizes to meet data center demands. A framework is then built using the best cost estimates from the literature to identify ideal reactor power sizes for the needs of the given data center. Results should not be taken to be deterministic but highlight the variability of ideal reactor power output against the required demand. While certain advocates claim that with the gigawatts of clean, firm energy needed, large plants are ideal, others advocate for SMRs that can be deployed in large quantities and reap the benefits from learning effects. The findings of this study showcase that identifying the optimal size for a reactor is likely more nuanced and dependent on the application and its requirements. Overall, the study does show potential economic promise for coupling nuclear reactors to data centers and industrial heat applications under certain key conditions and assumptions.

Keywords: data centers; nuclear energy; economies of scale; economies of multiples; availability; levelized cost of energy; levelized cost of heat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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