Data centers save water and cost with nuclear power scheduling
FissionReady: Joint Workload and Power Scheduling for Data Centers Powered by Small Modular Reactors
Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing
Summary
Data centers can run on small nuclear reactors that produce clean energy, but these reactors are hard to adjust quickly based on changing electricity needs. The authors designed FissionReady, a system that carefully plans how each reactor module works to match the data center’s power demand without shutting down or missing important tasks. This system also reduces water use and electricity costs by better timing power from the reactors and the grid. FissionReady takes into account the complex physics inside reactors to keep them safe and efficient.
What this means in practice
- •For data center operators: Optimize power scheduling in data centers using nuclear reactors to reduce water use and electricity costs without interrupting workload deadlines.
- •For power plant operators: Manage small modular reactor output dynamically to safely follow demand changes while maximizing operational flexibility and cost efficiency.
Authors
Raghavendra Kanakagiri, Rohan Basu Roy, Yankai Jiang, Pranathi Wuppuluru, Devesh Tiwari
Abstract
Data centers are increasingly exploring small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) as a carbon-free power source, but variable datacenter demand and negative grid prices require the SMR plant to load-follow rather than run at constant output. Load following is uniquely challenging and complex for SMR plants due to underlying nuclear physics. We propose FissionReady, a datacenter scheduler that tracks each module's fuel age, xenon state, and remaining flexibility to determine per-module operating envelopes, then coordinates load-following, batch deferral, and grid purchasing through a two-timescale optimization. FissionReady achieves zero involuntary shutdowns and zero batch deadline misses while reducing water consumption by roughly one-third and grid cost by roughly half compared to a same-sized base configuration.