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ARTICLE · 10 FEBRUARY 2025

Data Center Boom Empowers Modular Nuclear Energy Opportunities

A&O Shearman
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The data center market continues to grow in 2025 and beyond, driven in part by AI applications. Energy sources, including nuclear, are key to meeting the increased demand for power.

European UnionEnergy and Natural Resources
Zeeger de Jongh
Zeeger de Jongh
Marinus Winters
Marinus Winters
Thijs Homveld
Thijs Homveld
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The data center market continues to grow in 2025 and beyond, driven in part by AI applications. Energy sources, including nuclear, are key to meeting the increased demand for power. This creates opportunities for efficient nuclear power solutions like Small Modular Reactors (SMR's), which potentially offer a stable, low-carbon and cost-effective power supply.

In this blog, we delve into the trends and opportunities associated with data centers and their power requirements, emphasizing the role SMR's can play and the initiatives aimed at supporting their development and deployment.

Demand surge driven by AI

Based on the projections from various industry reports, the data center market is expected to grow significantly due to advancements in AI, increased data consumption, and cloud services expansion. Projections estimate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 12.8% through 2025, with robust global growth continuing through 2030. In Europe, demand for

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