{
  "id": 16987993,
  "title": "Nvidia wants to turn old nuclear power plants into huge AI data centers — but says it draws the line at turning them back on",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/nvidia-wants-to-turn-old-nuclear-power-plants-into-huge-ai-data",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-29T01:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechRadar",
    "slug": "techradar",
    "url": "https://www.techradar.com/pro/nvidia-wants-to-turn-old-nuclear-power-plants-into-huge-ai-data-centers-but-says-it-draws-the-line-at-turning-them-back-on"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nvidia is exploring the possibility of converting Germany's retired nuclear power plants into AI data centers, according to a preliminary agreement with PreussenElektra GmbH. However, the US chipmaker has ruled out restarting any idle nuclear reactors, citing the Fukushima incident as a reason to avoid reviving them. Germany permanently shut down its last operating nuclear reactors in April 2023 and is currently dismantling about 30 atomic stations nationwide. PreussenElektra oversees the closure and teardown of eight of these stations, which are likely to be the focus of the investigation. The companies aim to assess whether the decommissioned sites can meet the technical and operational requirements of AI factories, taking into account factors such as grid connections, open land, industrial infrastructure, and cooling access. Nvidia believes that reusing these existing locations could lower costs and expedite development compared to building new data centers from scratch. While the idea appears promising on paper, the feasibility of the project still depends on addressing issues related to grid capacity, approval processes, regional acceptance, and conversion costs.",
  "summary": "Nvidia and PreussenElektra are assessing Germany's retired nuclear sites for AI data centers, without restarting reactors or committing to construction.",
  "key_points": [
    "Nvidia explores converting retired German nuclear power plants into AI data centers",
    "Company rules out restarting any idle nuclear reactors, citing Fukushima incident",
    "Focus on decommissioned sites' technical and operational requirements for AI factories"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}