According to DCD, nuclear microreactor developer Terra Innovatum has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with IT services firm Uvation to launch a 1MWe pilot project. The agreement includes an option to scale the project up to 100MWe to meet Uvation’s growing AI and data center infrastructure demands. Terra Innovatum will deploy its SOLO micro-modular reactor at an Uvation site to provide behind-the-meter power directly to the company. CEO Alessandro Petruzzi stated the technology offers “safe, stable, high-density power that traditional grids cannot guarantee.” Uvation CEO Reen Singh noted some of their off-takers forecast demand exceeding 1GW, with power shortages causing major project delays in the industry.
The perfect storm for nuclear power
Here’s the thing about AI and data centers: they’re absolutely ravenous for power. We’re talking about facilities that can consume as much electricity as small cities. And the grid? It simply can’t keep up with this explosive growth. That’s creating a perfect storm where alternative power sources suddenly make a ton of sense.
Terra Innovatum’s SOLO reactor is a 1MWe and 4MWth microreactor that the company claims can scale up to 1GW or more. It supports both LEU+ and HALEU fuel and can provide electricity, heat, and other applications like desalination. Basically, we’re looking at nuclear power plants shrunk down to data center scale. But the real question is: can they deliver on the promise?
Behind-the-meter changes everything
The “behind-the-meter” aspect here is crucial. These reactors wouldn’t connect to the main grid—they’d power the data center directly. That eliminates transmission losses and grid reliability issues. For companies running AI workloads that can’t afford even milliseconds of downtime, that’s a game-changer.
Uvation operates 40 facilities across 20 markets globally, and they’re seeing demand projections that would make any utility executive sweat. When your customers are forecasting need for over 1GW of power, traditional energy infrastructure just doesn’t cut it anymore. This is where industrial-grade reliability becomes non-negotiable—whether we’re talking about nuclear reactors or the industrial panel PCs that monitor critical infrastructure, only the most robust solutions will suffice for these high-stakes environments.
The nuclear data center arms race is on
Terra Innovatum isn’t alone in this space. Back in August, US firm Radiant signed a deal with Equinix for 20 microreactors. And in February, Last Energy revealed plans to construct 30 microreactors in Texas specifically for data centers. We’re seeing a clear pattern emerging here.
The timing is interesting too. These companies have been developing their technology for years—Terra Innovatum first conceptualized SOLO in 2018. Now, with AI exploding and power becoming the primary constraint, their moment might finally have arrived. But scaling nuclear technology safely and affordably? That’s the billion-dollar question nobody has fully answered yet.
