Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He\u2019s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he\u2019s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-25/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Jowi Morales Social Links Navigation Contributing Writer Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.
Zaranthos I haven't looked into the actual logistics of this very closely but it seems like a remarkably stupid idea, and not because of the nuclear reactor part because modern SMR designs are far safer than traditional older designs. The ocean is not good environment for anything like a data center. The salt water is corrosive, even the air would have to be more heavily filtered to prevent internal data center corrosion. It just raises costs and makes long term use a maintenance concern. Storms, or earthquakes could destroy it or seriously damage it, and I'm not sure if ocean based mitigations for those events is cheaper than land based designs. Probably has cooling advantages short term, but it seems like a money grab at the AI spending craze that would be highly profitable for rebuilds and maintenance contracts and not a good way to spend that AI money long term. It won't happen anytime soon because I don't think SMR will be ready for a while yet. Reply
nameless0ne It might be competitive if towed to international waters and registered in a country with super-low taxes. SMR aside, if the ship part costs 2x – 3x that of a supertanker, then it might be doable. Musk rented out Colosus for more than 1B a month. It would all depend on how much you can save on taxes vs increased maintenance cost. Reply
LordVile Zaranthos said: I haven't looked into the actual logistics of this very closely but it seems like a remarkably stupid idea, and not because of the nuclear reactor part because modern SMR designs are far safer than traditional older designs. The ocean is not good environment for anything like a data center. The salt water is corrosive, even the air would have to be more heavily filtered to prevent internal data center corrosion. It just raises costs and makes long term use a maintenance concern. Storms, or earthquakes could destroy it or seriously damage it, and I'm not sure if ocean based mitigations for those events is cheaper than land based designs. Probably has cooling advantages short term, but it seems like a money grab at the AI spending craze that would be highly profitable for rebuilds and maintenance contracts and not a good way to spend that AI money long term. It won't happen anytime soon because I don't think SMR will be ready for a while yet. Depends how you’re planning to use it. A sealed unit using refrigerant would bypass most of these issues. You can also moor them in calmer seas less prone to storms Reply
USAFRet Once small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) become commercially available and certified for shipboard use So, decades from now, if ever. Reply
Scifieart Surprised they haven't tried to buy the decommissioned hulks of old USN carriers like Enterprise. They're already built, have massive internal hangar and deck space and have reactors already. Would only be marginally less stupid. Reply
USAFRet Scifieart said: Surprised they haven't tried to buy the decommissioned hulks of old USN carriers like Enterprise. They're already built, have massive internal hangar and deck space and have reactors already. Would only be marginally less stupid. So many reasons no. Primarily, once decommissioned, they no longer have the 50 year old reactors. Reply
Scifieart USAFRet said: So many reasons no. Primarily, once decommissioned, they no longer have the 50 year old reactors. Oh I know it's dumb. But these AI bros are that dumb. Microsoft is already trying to reactivate the reactors at 3 Mile Island. They're grasping at straws. Can't the bubble just pop already. Reply
Zaranthos USAFRet said: Once small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) become commercially available and certified for shipboard use So, decades from now, if ever. Probably a decade, more or less, based on current estimates. Nuclear power of all types has gotten a huge uplift from the AI boom. Commercial land based SMR should happen much sooner. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/startup-plans-to-put-nuclear-powered-data-centers-in-the-sea-modular-units-could-be-much-faster-to-deploy-but-questions-about-reliability-and-longevity-remain#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.