Data Centres Consider Backing Uranium Projects, NexGen CEO Says
fliptop writes:
Canadian uranium developer NexGen Energy has held preliminary talks with data centre providers about securing finance for a new mine that could supply fuel for power plants needed for artificial intelligence, its CEO said on Wednesday:
Soaring demand for AI is driving a massive build-out of power-hungry data centres, in turn boosting the need for new generation capacity, including nuclear plants that will require uranium.
To meet that need, NexGen CEO Leigh Curyer said big tech firms will follow the trend set by automakers, who offered finance for battery material mine development several years ago to ensure there was enough supply for an expected boom in demand for electric vehicles.
"It's coming. You've seen it with automakers. These tech companies, they're under an obligation to ensure the hundreds of billions that they are investing in the data centres are going to be powered," he said, speaking at a Melbourne Mining Club event.
NexGen is developing its Rook 1 uranium project in Saskatchewan and has said it expects to finalise a funding package in the second quarter.
As reported on OilPrice.com:
Global electricity demand increased by 3% annually in 2025, following growth of 4.4% in 2024, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its recent Electricity 2026 report.
Between 2026 and 2030, the annual average growth rate would be 3.6%, driven by higher consumption from industry, electric vehicles (EVs), air conditioning, and data centers, according to the agency.
Artificial intelligence, data centers, and advanced manufacturing support the return to growth in power demand in advanced economies, the IEA said.
U.S. electricity demand rose by 2.1% in 2025 and is expected to grow by nearly 2% annually through 2030. The rapid expansion of data centers will drive half of the increase, the agency noted.
Also at ZeroHedge.
Related:
- Microsoft: the Company Doesn't Have Enough Electricity to Install All the AI GPUs in its Inventory
- Data Centers Turn to Commercial Aircraft Jet Engines Bolted Onto Trailers as AI Power Crunch Bites
- OpenAI and Nvidia's $100B AI Plan Will Require Power Equal to 10 Nuclear Reactors
- Meta is Building "Several" Multi-Gigawatt Compute Clusters
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