Google’s NERD Squad: Can Nuclear Innovation Save the Climate?

What if the future of clean energy depended on algorithms and a little audacity? Google’s decade-long nuclear adventure is betting on it.

Google’s NERD (Nuclear Energy R&D) group has quietly advanced nuclear innovation, leveraging machine learning and advocacy to tackle global energy challenges.

Collaborating with fusion leader TAE Technologies, Google used AI-driven algorithms like the “optometrist algorithm” to optimize plasma experiments, achieving breakthroughs in stability and temperature. They also explored low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR), a once-dismissed “cold fusion” concept, leading to scientific credibility and unexpected applications, such as deuterated drugs for safer treatments.

• Advanced nuclear designs are supported by modernized U.S. policies, including funding for small modular reactors.
• AI-powered plasma optimization helped TAE surpass experimental goals with unprecedented precision.
• New experiments on nuclear waste hint at converting toxic byproducts into usable fuel.

By playing both near-term and long-term innovation strategies, Google showcases how big bets in nuclear could bridge the energy gap. Should tech giants take the lead in saving the climate, or is this a gamble we can’t afford? Share your thoughts below.

Read the full article on IEEE Spectrum.

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