Equinix is betting that the following wave of digital infrastructure will likely be powered not solely by renewables and grid contracts, however by superior nuclear. The worldwide information middle big has signed a pre-order settlement with French start-up Stellaria for electrical energy from its first industrial molten salt reactor, a compact unit branded ‘Stellarium’ that the corporate plans to deploy from 2035.
Below the association, Equinix has reserved the primary tranche of energy capability from a future Stellarium reactor, marking the inaugural capability dedication Stellaria has secured. The deal is framed as a long-term transfer to safe agency, low-carbon energy for Equinix’s rising fleet of AI-ready, high-density information facilities, that are driving up each energy demand and resiliency necessities worldwide.
Stellaria is a spin-out from the French Various Energies and Atomic Vitality Fee (CEA), one among Europe’s main nuclear analysis establishments. Its proposed molten salt reactor design is notably compact, at round 4 cubic meters of reactor core quantity, and is meant to function with a spread of nuclear fuels together with uranium, plutonium, MOX, minor actinides and thorium. Stellaria claims that Stellarium is the primary reactor idea to run on a liquid gas able to “destroying extra waste than it produces,” positioning it as a device for each energy era and long-lived waste discount.
Diversifying The Vitality Combine
For Equinix, the settlement is a part of a broader technique to diversify its vitality combine past conventional energy buy agreements and grid-based renewables. In August, the corporate introduced partnerships with 5 various vitality suppliers, together with Stellaria, to help the enlargement of its AI-optimized information facilities. The Stellaria deal is probably the most futuristic of those strikes, pointing towards a mannequin wherein some information middle campuses could finally sit alongside devoted, on- or near-site nuclear microreactors.
Régis Castagne, Managing Director of Equinix France, mentioned the corporate chosen Stellaria as a result of it’s amongst a small group of distributors that might, in precept, make very high-density AI information facilities each energy-resilient and low-carbon. Stellarium models are designed to generate round 250 MWe of steady energy, with Stellaria emphasizing each the potential for twenty-four/7 agency output and the power to eat sure classes of nuclear waste as gas. For hyperscale information middle operators, that mixture of baseload energy, carbon-free era and lowered on-site waste storage is especially engaging.
Equinix, headquartered in California, operates greater than 270 information facilities in 77 metropolitan areas globally. In Europe, the corporate already reviews 100% renewable protection for its operations and has been an energetic purchaser of long-term renewable energy buy agreements, together with in France. Superior nuclear is being positioned not as a substitute for renewables, however as a complementary, dispatchable energy supply that may help the acute, usually spiky hundreds related to AI coaching clusters and GPU-rich infrastructure.
For Stellaria, the Equinix settlement is a vital industrial sign in a market the place most superior reactor initiatives are nonetheless on the design and licensing stage. CEO Nicolas Breyton described the deal as a turning level that validates Stellaria’s technique and supplies a transparent demand sign forward of deliberate Stellarium deployments starting in 2035, topic to regulatory approvals and industrialization.
The idea of utilizing molten salt reactors (MSRs) for information middle energy remains to be extremely speculative, however technically compelling. MSRs use molten fluoride or chloride salts as each coolant and, in some designs, as a provider for dissolved nuclear gas. Working at low strain however excessive temperature, they promise inherent security options, excessive thermal effectivity and the power to run on various gas cycles, together with thorium-based programs that breed fissile uranium-233. They are often configured for quick or epithermal neutron spectra, opening choices for burning transuranic waste or optimizing for various gas methods.
Nuclear Security Rules
Nonetheless, the trail to commercialization stays complicated. MSR designs should navigate stringent nuclear security laws, supplies challenges comparable to corrosion in sizzling salt environments, gas cycle logistics and public acceptance. A number of design variants exist, and standardization remains to be restricted. Stellaria might want to reveal not simply technical feasibility, but additionally bankability, manufacturability at scale and aggressive levelized value of electrical energy.
From a digital infrastructure standpoint, the Equinix–Stellaria settlement underscores how quickly the facility profile of AI-era information facilities is altering. As rack densities climb, workloads grow to be extra steady and AI coaching clusters behave extra like industrial hundreds than conventional IT, operators are exploring choices far past incremental effectivity positive aspects and grid contracts. Co-locating or intently siting superior nuclear capability may, if realized, provide latency-free, predictable energy, cut back publicity to grid constraints and probably stabilize long-term vitality prices.
The deal doesn’t imply that Equinix data centers will likely be working on molten salt nuclear energy within the close to time period; 2035 is a protracted horizon in each expertise and coverage phrases. However for B2B expertise and infrastructure leaders, it’s one other signal that the convergence of AI, vitality transition and digital sovereignty is pushing hyperscalers and colocation suppliers to experiment with unconventional vitality partnerships.
If Stellaria’s roadmap holds, the primary Stellarium models would come on-line at a time when each AI workloads and grid decarbonization pressures are anticipated to be far increased than at the moment. Whether or not this particular design succeeds or not, the Equinix pre-order alerts that main information middle operators are prepared to behave as early offtakers for next-generation nuclear, offered it may possibly ship the twin promise of carbon-free baseload energy and strong security.
Government Insights FAQ
What precisely did Equinix conform to with Stellaria?
Equinix has signed a pre-order capability reservation with Stellaria, securing entry to energy from the primary deliberate Stellarium molten salt reactor. It’s a forward-looking dedication fairly than an instantaneous energy contract, linked to reactors Stellaria goals to deploy from 2035 onward.
Why are information middle operators molten salt reactors?
AI and high-density workloads are driving up steady energy demand and tightening resilience necessities. Molten salt reactors promise 24/7 baseload, low-carbon electrical energy in a compact footprint, probably situated close to or alongside giant information middle campuses, which is engaging for operators in search of each vitality safety and decarbonization.
How does this match with Equinix’s current renewable technique?
Equinix already sources 100% renewable electrical energy in Europe and invests closely in renewable PPAs. Superior nuclear is being explored as a complementary, agency energy supply that may backstop intermittent renewables and help extraordinarily power-hungry AI clusters the place uptime and predictability are essential.
What is exclusive about Stellaria’s Stellarium reactor idea?
Stellarium is a really compact molten salt reactor design that makes use of liquid nuclear gas and is meant to function on a number of gas varieties, together with some waste streams comparable to minor actinides. Stellaria claims the design can eat extra nuclear waste than it generates, combining energy manufacturing with waste discount, though this stays to be demonstrated commercially.
When may Equinix realistically use energy from a Stellarium reactor?
Stellaria presently targets 2035 for the primary Stellarium deployment, contingent on profitable growth, licensing and financing. Any Equinix information middle powered by such a reactor would subsequently be no less than a decade away, making this settlement primarily a strategic sign fairly than an instantaneous change in Equinix’s vitality combine.
