The chief executive of Amazon Web Services (AWS) has said that the UK will need more nuclear energy to power the data centres behind AI technology.
Matt Garmen told the BBC in an interview on Friday that nuclear power is a “great solution” for the needs of data centres because it is an “excellent source of zero carbon, 24/7 power”.
He also said that future energy needs have been pivotal in the company’s planning process.
“It’s something we plan many years out,” continued the chief exec. “We invest ahead.
“I think the world is going to have to build new technologies. I believe nuclear is a big part of that particularly as we look 10 years out.”
Amazon and Microsoft have both promised to significantly increase spending on data centres amid the AI boom, with AWS saying it will spend $83 billion and Microsoft $80 billion in 2025 alone, according to statements made in earlier this year.
But last month, reports suggested that AWS was suspending some data centre lease talks for its cloud division amidst economic uncertainty.
Wells Fargo analysts observed that AWS has halted negotiations on data centre leases in foreign markets, adding that the decision was influenced by growing economic concerns.
At the time, vice president of AWS global data centres Kevin Miller said: “This is routine capacity management, and there haven’t been any recent fundamental changes in our expansion plans.”
Earlier this week, Intel and Shell announced the industry’s first certified immersion cooling solution for data centres, aimed at addressing the growing energy demands of AI infrastructure.
The Intel Data Center Certified for Immersion Cooling solution combines Intel’s Xeon processors with Shell’s cooling fluids, offering data centre operators a pre-validated approach to sustainable cooling validated through extensive testing at Intel’s Advanced Data Center Development Laboratory.
According to industry analysts Dell’Oro Group, liquid cooling is expected to account for 36 per cent of data centre thermal management revenue by 2028, with immersion cooling offering superior performance compared to traditional air cooling methods.
In early May, AWS rival Microsoft committed to providing “digital stability” through a time of geopolitical volatility with plans to boost European data centre capacity by 40 per cent over the next two years.
As part of several new digital commitments in Europe, the tech giant plans to expand data centre operations in 16 European countries.
The company will also build an “AI and cloud ecosystem” in Europe, in a bid to uphold the continent’s digital resilience, protecting the privacy of European data, defending Europe’s cybersecurity and strengthening Europe’s economic competitiveness.
