The US chipmaker and the German firm will assess whether PreussenElektra's former nuclear plant sites can be repurposed as "AI factories", large-scale data centers built to support artificial intelligence workloads. The open-ended exploration will evaluate existing energy grid links, available land, and industrial infrastructure at the sites.
"Our former power plant sites have valuable industrial infrastructure and offer opportunities for new, future-oriented uses," said Guido Knott, Chairman of PEL's Management Board. "Together with NVIDIA, we intend to conduct a sound assessment of whether and how these conditions can be leveraged for AI factories."
The move aims to find alternatives to building massive data centers from scratch amid an unprecedented AI infrastructure buildout. New data centers require well-located land, industrial-zone approvals, proximity to water infrastructure for cooling, and high-voltage grid connections, attributes that nuclear plants already possess. By repurposing these facilities, Nvidia hopes to reduce cost and development timelines.
Markus Hacker, senior regional director at Nvidia, said: "AI factories require access to power, land and high-capacity infrastructure, and former industrial sites could provide a strong foundation for this next generation of computing. Together with PreussenElektra, we will assess how its sites could meet the technical and operational requirements of AI factories and contribute to Germany's high-performance AI infrastructure."
Germany permanently shut down its last remaining operational nuclear power plants in April 2023, following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and is dismantling about 30 nuclear plants across the country. PreussenElektra is currently responsible for decommissioning and dismantling eight of those plants, which are likely the sites to be assessed.
The companies stressed that the data center assessment initiative is strictly experimental. No investment amounts, approved development plans, or definitive construction agreements have been finalized. Furthermore, the plan does not involve using nuclear power to power any future data centers; the project is focused on infrastructure.