VIEWPOINT: Big Tech Just Saved Nuclear -Now It Needs Thermal Storage To Work

This is the second installment in Brenmiller Energy's "Viewpoint" Series, which explores the infrastructure, innovation, and storage technologies needed to build a resilient, low-carbon energy future.

The recent announcement that Meta signed a 20-year power purchase agreement to purchase roughly 1.1 gigawatts of energy from Constellation's Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois, the entire output from the site's one nuclear reactor, is being celebrated as a nuclear renaissance milestone. We see it as a catalyst. The deal not only saved a vital zero-emissions plant from potential closure but also signaled a new era of private-sector alignment with long-term energy planning.

It also confirmed something we at Brenmiller Energy have been saying for years: clean energy generation alone is not enough.

In an increasingly complex and electrified world driven by AI workloads and 24/7 compute demands, flexibility and system management-not just sufficient energy generation-are the constraints. That's especially true for nuclear energy. Nuclear energy delivers unmatched baseload stability; however, it was never built to handle dynamic, real-time load profiles created by today's technology-dependent world.

That's the challenge Big Tech is now facing. It's also where thermal energy storage, including our bGen technology, can play a supporting role.

Nuclear Wasn't Designed for What's Already Here
Traditional nuclear reactors were optimized to run at full capacity, continuously. That model made sense in a 20th-century grid-when baseload demand was steady, and flexibility wasn't mission-critical.

But today's energy reality looks very different:

• Hyperscale data centers operate in real-time energy demand cycles that can vary not just hourly, but minute to minute.
• Manufacturers are electrifying industrial heat. Not only to reduce carbon emissions but to de-risk cost visibility associated with natural gas and fossil fuels.
• The energy mix includes variable renewables (such as wind and solar) that require precise grid-managing balance. Without it, major power outages similar to what happened in the Iberian Peninsula could become more frequent.
• Countries are building off-grid and island-mode projects that need local dispatch control.

In this new energy landscape, nuclear power, despite its significant contributions, cannot deliver what is required on its own. Not because it lacks the power-generating strength but because it lacks proper management. That reality isn't going unnoticed.

Deals like the latest one above prove that for nuclear power to be a truly viable solution to soaring energy demands, it needs a partner. Pairing it with proven thermal storage infrastructure-such as Brenmiller's bGen platform-can be an ideal solution, as it converts baseload into dispatchable power 24/7/365, enabling nuclear power to meet peak demand, fills volatility gaps, and integrates into modern, decentralized grids.

Big Tech Understands the Stakes
Meta's deal is not an isolated case. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have all publicly committed to supporting the expansion of nuclear energy. Why? Because AI is rewriting the global energy equation.

According to multiple utility forecasts, electricity demand from AI could exceed 400 terawatt-hours annually in the U.S. alone by 2030. These workloads are not just large-they're persistent and intolerant of downtime. The energy stack that supports them can't rely on hope, incentives, or balancing acts between wind and solar. It needs firm, clean, flexible, and managed power-a profile no single-generation source can satisfy on its own.

This shortcoming is putting thermal energy storage in the spotlight for all the right reasons. And from our visionary approach to energy storage, Brenmiller Energy is uniquely positioned to capitalize. Once thought of as a niche focus is now a headline need. As important to the energy community, we're past the conceptual stages.

Thermal Storage as the Nuclear Enabler
At Brenmiller Energy, we've already proven that our thermal energy storage technology works at an industrial scale. Our bGen systems are deployed across Europe, Israel, and the United States, powering decarbonization, balancing renewables, and supporting off-grid hydrogen production in ways that align directly with the future energy stack nuclear must serve.

Just as Meta is utilizing its energy commitments to keep nuclear plants operational, we believe energy buyers will turn to storage technologies to make those nuclear investments flexible enough to matter. Brenmiller Energy has the assets to make that happen-and we're executing it today. Moreover, we can mitigate the time spent on developing SMRs, which may or may not prove to be an efficient solution.

Making the Grid Ready for AI-and for SMRs
Constellation, the operator of the Clinton plant, has already indicated it may seek to install a small modular reactor at the site in the future. That would align with President Trump's recently signed executive orders calling for streamlined SMR permitting and domestic fuel sourcing.

The key issue? SMRs, while more flexible than legacy reactors, will still need supporting infrastructure to unlock that flexibility at the grid level. Without storage, the same challenges apply: static generation trying to fit into dynamic loads. We can help overcome those challenges.

Brenmiller's bGen platform offers a modular, shippable, and commercially proven storage solution that can absorb excess thermal energy and redeploy it on demand, enabling nuclear of any size to deliver on the 21st-century energy promise.

An Energized World Needs The Right Infrastructure
The energy world is evolving fast. And the return of nuclear is not a potentiality-it's already happening. But if we want nuclear to succeed in powering the digital world and its economy, it must be paired with enabling infrastructure that makes it adaptable, flexible, and future-proof.

Thermal energy storage is that infrastructure.
Without it, nuclear will remain a static asset in a dynamic world. With it, it becomes part of a flexible, scalable, AI-ready grid. And that's the kind of energy future we're building at Brenmiller Energy-one milestone, one deployment, and one inflection point at a time.