Amazon Web Services is helping the Idaho National Laboratory modernize nuclear energy research and development through a new collaboration that will leverage AWS cloud computing infrastructure to create artificial intelligence tools tailored for nuclear energy projects.
Announced on Wednesday, the forthcoming technology suite aims to help reduce overhead costs associated with permitting, building and operating nuclear facilities.
“Our collaboration with Amazon Web Services marks a significant leap forward in integrating advanced AI technologies into our nuclear energy research and development initiatives,” INL Director John Wagner said in a press release. “This collaboration underscores the critical role of linking the nation’s nuclear energy laboratory with AWS.”
One of the goals of the collaboration is to develop nuclear energy solutions to offer sustainable power options for data centers handling large volumes of compute. AWS software will initially be used to develop a digital twin model of a small modular reactor to better understand how a physical reactor will function.
“AWS’s powerful AI and computing technology will support Idaho National Laboratory’s development of autonomous nuclear reactors to pioneer a future where civilian nuclear operations are safer, smarter and more responsive,” David Appel, vice president of U.S. Federal and Global National Security and Defense for AWS, said in the release. “We’re proud to collaborate with the Department of Energy and Idaho National Laboratory to accelerate safe advanced nuclear energy that will strengthen America’s energy leadership and our technological edge.”
The partnership announcement came the same day that President Donald Trump signed three new executive orders on AI policy, one of which focuses on scaling a strong AI infrastructure within the U.S. An AWS spokesperson told Nextgov/FCW that the new partnership between INL and AWS is not a direct result of the new EO.
