Amazon signs plan to invest in innovative nuclear projects to support the push for greater power generation for data centers. This news comes out just days after Google signed a deal with nuclear startup, Kairos to bolster nuclear plant production.

Small Modular Reactors are growing in popularity as more companies see them as the solution to limitless clean energy production. With a low barrier to entry and fast turnaround times, companies that were once investing in renewable energies like solar and wind power are now looking to nuclear once again.

Amazon’s agreement consists of partnerships with three energy companies across the US. They have partnered with Energy Northwest to enable the development of four SMRs to generate up to 960MW of total power. They have also partnered with utility company Dominion Energy out of Virginia to expand their growth on their current SMR project. X-energy, a developer of advanced nuclear reactors is also receiving funds from Amazon to support the deployment of over 5GW of new nuclear power projects.

“Nuclear is a safe source of carbon-free energy that can help power our operations and meet the growing demands of our customers, while helping us progress toward our Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040,” said Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS). “One of the fastest ways to address climate change is by transitioning our society to carbon-free energy sources, and nuclear energy is both carbon-free and able to scale – which is why it’s an important area of investment for amazon. Our agreements will encourage the construction of new nuclear technologies that will generate energy for decades to come.”

This is a great step forward for nuclear as large companies continue to invest in the clean energy source to power their data centers. With great advancements in nuclear safety features and research into smaller, modularized reactor deployment, it looks like people are finally coming around to nuclear as the solution to the issues surrounding a growing global, clean energy demand.