EXCLUSIVE: Google Is Racing to Secure Nuclear Power for AI—The Fuel Problem Comes Next

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google is securing nuclear electricity for decades as it races to expand AI infrastructure, but locking up reactor output is only one piece of the equation. The bigger question may be what fuels those reactors: Christo Liebenberg, co-founder and president of LIS Technologies, told Benzinga in an exclusive email interview. Liebenberg noted that Big Tech is signing power deals faster than it is committing money to the nuclear fuel supply chain. Google Locks Up Nuclear Power Google announced Sept. 9 that it will invest €13 billion ($15.1 billion) in Finland over 2027 and 2028 to expand digital infrastructure, including data-center capacity. As part of the investment, Google signed a 22-year agreement covering up to 50% of the capacity of Finland’s Loviisa nuclear plant, supporting its life extension through 2050. The deal illustrates the increasingly direct connection between AI infrastructure and nuclear power. Google is not simply building more data centers and hoping the grid can keep up; it is helping secure long-duration nuclear generation to support that expansion. Read Also: Google-Parent Alphabet Just Helped Turn This German Nuclear Fusion Startup Into a $2.4 Billion Company The move also fits a broader hyperscaler trend. Alphabet, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) have all pursued nuclear power agreements or partnerships as AI pushes their electricity requirements higher. A Carnegie analysis estimates those commitments could represent roughly 6.9 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by the early 2030s, although some projects depend on reactors that have yet to be commercialized. The Fuel Gap That’s where Liebenberg’s exclusive Benzinga interview introduces a different part of the nuclear story. "What we see are a lot of hyperscalers investing into PPA’s (power purchase agreements) with reactor companies, but very little FPA’s (fuel purchase agreements) into the nuclear fuel supply chain," Liebenberg said. His point is not that Big Tech has no role in nuclear fuel. Rather, the financial commitment to securing electricity is becoming much more visible than commitments to the infrastructure required to produce the fuel behind that electricity. That distinction matters because nuclear power requires a chain extending from uranium mining through conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication. Liebenberg argues that the U.S. has underbuilt several of those stages after years of relying on foreign supply. The issue is particularly relevant for advanced reactors, which may require specialized fuels such as HALEU. The U.S. government is already spending billions to rebuild domestic enrichment capacity, while companies including Centrus are developing additional production. For investors, that could broaden the nuclear opportunity beyond reactor operators to uranium and fuel-cycle names such as Cameco Corp (NYSE:CCJ), Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) and Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX:UEC), as demand for nuclear power increasingly puts pressure on fuel supply. AI Needs More Than Power Liebenberg says Big Tech and the U.S. government will need to help fund that broader infrastructure if the nuclear buildout is going to match rising electricity demand. That creates an unusual second-order AI trade. The first wave of hyperscaler nuclear spending is helping secure power for data centers. The next question is whether some of that capital eventually moves upstream into uranium, enrichment and fuel manufacturing. For investors, that could make the nuclear opportunity considerably broader than the reactor companies and uranium miners getting the most attention today. Google’s Loviisa deal secures the electricity; the emerging challenge is ensuring there is enough fuel infrastructure behind it to keep that electricity flowing. Read Also: Nvidia's AI Boom Hits Its Next Challenge: Power Photo Courtesy: ZikG on Shutterstock.com