【By Zhang Jingjuan, Observers Network】According to a report by Bloomberg on the 28th, Bill Gates, the billionaire tech magnate in the United States, recently expressed his views on the global energy competition landscape, stating that China's investment in nuclear fusion has reached twice the total of all other countries worldwide. In the race for next-generation nuclear reactors, China is increasingly challenging the leading positions of the United States and other countries.
As co-founder of Microsoft Corporation and a leader in climate investment, Bill Gates commented on China's efforts in nuclear energy innovation, stating that the research achievements in both nuclear fusion and fission are impressive.
The report points out that China is emerging as a strong competitor to the United States in the race to develop small modular reactors (SMR) and nuclear fusion technology.
Behind this energy competition is the power demand crisis caused by the explosive growth of global data centers. A report released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance in April stated that by 2035, the proportion of electricity used by U.S. data centers in total electricity consumption will increase from 3.5% in 2024 to 8.6%, which is faster than any other major load category. Due to the need for massive computing power and the surge in high-energy infrastructure for AI training, the electricity consumption of U.S. data centers may even exceed the growth of electric vehicle electricity consumption in the next five years.
Facing energy pressure, the United States is accelerating its layout in the nuclear power industry. According to a recent report by Bloomberg Industry Research, the energy demand of data centers will drive a $35 billion investment boom in the nuclear power sector.
Bill Gates believes that nuclear power can meet the energy needs of data centers and reduce electricity costs. He pointed out that artificial intelligence is increasing electricity bills, and the further popularization of heat pumps and electric vehicles will exacerbate this trend.
He said that although the United States has abundant natural gas resources, they are not inexhaustible.
He added that in the long run, "nuclear fission or fusion may become the cheapest way to generate electricity." However, currently, nuclear fusion and advanced nuclear fission technologies are still expensive and have not been practically verified.
Conceptual design of the Compact Fusion Energy Experimental Facility (BEST) project, WeChat official account "Hefei Release"
According to the report, the Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund founded by Bill Gates has invested in several nuclear power startups, including Federal Nuclear Fusion Systems. Its own company, TerraPower, also completed a $650 million financing in June this year. In addition to the existing shareholders such as Bill Gates and Hyundai Heavy Industries, the venture capital department of chip giant NVIDIA, NVentures, has also become a new shareholder of the company.
TerraPower plans to design and build the first commercial nuclear power plant in the United States in Wyoming. The nuclear power plant will use a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor and be equipped with a molten salt storage system, which can increase the system output to 500 megawatts when needed, equivalent to the energy required to power 400,000 households.
The report points out that unlike other energy sources such as wind and solar, nuclear power has received support from the Trump administration. Chris Wright, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, stated at a summit in Utah in October, "Nuclear power will become popular again." Before joining the Department of Energy, he served as a director of the nuclear energy startup Oklo.
Under the dual drivers of policy and the market, tech giants have embraced nuclear power in an unprecedented manner: Amazon led a $500 million funding round for X-energy; Google signed an agreement with the U.S. nuclear power company Kerosene Power to provide "500 megawatts of continuous carbon-free power"; and Meta has reached a 20-year nuclear power procurement agreement with Constellation Energy, the largest owner of nuclear power plants in the United States.
However, there are multiple challenges behind the optimistic expectations. Bill Gates admitted that these startups still have a long way to go before achieving large-scale power supply. "Unless everything goes smoothly, nuclear power will still not become the main source of power supply for data centers by 2035."
It is worth noting that with the continuous maturation of nuclear fusion technology, the progress of China's "artificial sun" has attracted global attention. On October 25, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning shared the compact fusion energy experimental facility (BEST) located in Hefei, Anhui, on the social platform "X," stating that the facility is expected to be completed by 2027 and could become the first device in human history to achieve fusion energy generation.
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