Oracle is designing a data center that would be powered by three small nuclear reactors

Oracle president and co-founder Larry Ellison had a "bizarre" announcement to marque this week.

The energy request from artificial quality is becoming truthful "crazy" that Oracle is looking to unafraid powerfulness from next-generation atomic technology, Ellison told investors connected the company's earnings telephone Monday.

"Let maine accidental thing that's going to dependable truly bizarre," Ellison told analysts. "Well, you'd astir apt say, well, helium says bizarre things each the time, truthful wherefore is helium announcing this one. It indispensable beryllium truly bizarre."

Oracle is designing a information halfway that volition necessitate much than a gigawatt of electricity, the company's president said. The information halfway would beryllium powered by 3 tiny atomic reactors, helium added.

"The determination and the powerfulness spot we've located, they've already got gathering permits for 3 atomic reactors," Ellison said. "These are the tiny modular atomic reactors to powerfulness the information center. This is however brainsick it's getting. This is what's going on."

Ellison did not disclose the determination of the information halfway oregon the aboriginal reactors. CNBC reached retired to Oracle for comment.

Small modular atomic reactors are caller designs that committedness to velocity the deployment of reliable, carbon-free vigor arsenic powerfulness request rises from information centers, manufacturing, and the broader electrification of the economy.

Generally, these reactors are 300 megawatts oregon less, astir a 3rd the size of the emblematic reactor successful the existent U.S. fleet. They would beryllium prefabricated successful respective pieces and past assembled connected the site, reducing the superior costs that stymie larger plants.

Right now, tiny modular reactors are a exertion of the future, with executives successful the atomic manufacture mostly agreeing that they won't beryllium commercialized successful the U.S. until the 2030s.

There are presently 3 operational tiny modular reactors successful the world, according to the Nuclear Energy Agency. Two are successful China and Russia, the cardinal geopolitical adversaries of the U.S. A trial reactor is besides operational successful Japan.