PreussenElektra and Nvidia Plan to Transform Nuclear Power Plants

PreussenElektra wants to analyze with Nvidia whether decommissioned German nuclear power plants can host large data centers. The announced agreement outlines a division of tasks to assess the technical and operational feasibility. Nothing is finalized, and no studies have yet begun, but the partners are expressing their interest.

An exploratory project with stated ambitions

No studies have been conducted yet, and the approach remains exploratory. Markus Hacker, Senior Regional Director at Nvidia, believes that former industrial sites could serve as a foundation for a new generation of computing. He specifies that Nvidia will evaluate with PreussenElektra to what extent these sites could meet the technical and operational requirements of AI factories. He adds that this assessment could contribute to establishing a high-performance AI infrastructure in Germany. This initiative comes as the computing power available for AI is not keeping pace with demand.

Announced collaboration and division of roles

PreussenElektra has announced its intention to collaborate with Nvidia to study the transformation of old nuclear power plants into AI factories. In this context, PreussenElektra is to provide data on its sites, while Nvidia is to estimate the needs of data centers and design suitable technical concepts. The goal is to identify the old nuclear power plants that could be converted into data centers.

Why decommissioned nuclear sites are being considered

In Germany, the responsibility for the decommissioning and deactivation of eight nuclear power plants lies with PreussenElektra. The company is examining the feasibility of transforming these sites into facilities dedicated to artificial intelligence or large data centers. According to PreussenElektra, these sites have vast industrial land, high-capacity network connections, and existing infrastructure. However, no decision has been made at this stage regarding their conversion.