PreussenElektra and NVIDIA Partner to Evaluate Nuclear Plant AI Conversion
German utility company PreussenElektra announced a partnership with NVIDIA on October 21 to evaluate the feasibility of converting decommissioned nuclear power plants into AI data centers. The open-ended assessment aims to determine if existing industrial sites can be repurposed to support high-performance AI infrastructure. This collaboration offers an innovative solution to the skyrocketing energy demands and infrastructure shortages facing the AI industry. By leveraging existing nuclear sites, companies can reduce capital expenditures and bypass some of the logistical hurdles associated with building new data centers from scratch. Decommissioned nuclear facilities offer extensive industrial land, robust grid connections, and established infrastructure, with potential reuse of existing cooling systems. PreussenElektra is currently handling the decommissioning and dismantling of eight nuclear facilities following Germany's complete phase-out of nuclear energy in 2023.
## BACKGROUND
Germany officially shut down all of its remaining nuclear power plants in 2023 as part of its long-term energy transition policy (Energiewende). PreussenElektra, a prominent German utility company and former E.ON subsidiary, is responsible for managing the dismantling and subsequent site management of several of these closed facilities.