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Old Reactors, New Tricks: How Decommissioned Warship Nuke Cores Could Become AI’s New Power Breakfast!

If you thought AI data centers got their mojo from lots of coffee and venture-capital-funded smugness, think again: soon they might run on the retired stern glow of a decommissioned aircraft carrier. 

Texas startup HGP Intelligent Energy has asked the U.S. Department of Energy for a loan guarantee to repurpose two retired U.S. Navy nuclear reactors and power an AI data center project at Oak Ridge — because nothing says “future of computing” like a second life for Cold War hardware.....

The pitch is deliciously pragmatic.

Bloomberg and other outlets report HGP wants to use two retired reactor plants to deliver roughly 450–520 megawatts of round-the-clock electricity — enough juice to keep racks humming and GPUs sweating while the nation argues whether “sentience” is a feature or a bug.

The company frames this as faster and cheaper than building a brand-new reactor farm from scratch or waiting on the modular-nuclear trend led by tech giants who already love buying industrial-sized power options.

Why retired Navy reactors? 

Because the Navy built a lot of them, and built them well. 

The U.S. Navy has operated over 100 naval reactors for decades with a spotless record on radiologic accidents, a point HGP leans on in its pitch. 

Technically speaking, carrier reactors like the Westinghouse A4W (used on Nimitz-class carriers) and submarine units like the General Electric S6G/S8G family have been the backbone of naval propulsion; many of the ships housing them are now reaching retirement age. 

The USS Nimitz — entering its final deployment after serving since 1975 — is emblematic of a generation of platforms whose cores might be eligible for a dignified second act as a power source for an AI Data center.

The math is blunt. 

Repurposing an existing reactor reportedly costs in the ballpark of $1 million–$4 million per megawatt, which, while not pocket change, can be a bargain compared with ground-up nuclear builds and some small-modular-reactor bids. 

HGP’s entire project is estimated to cost $1.8–$2.1 billion, money they say will cover reactivation logistics, infrastructure at Oak Ridge, and a legally required decommissioning fund to make sure nobody treats radioactive legacies like old office furniture.

“We already know how to do this safely and at scale,” says HGP chief executive Gregory Forero, who insists investors and partners are on board for the nuclear-meets-AI romance.

If that sentence were a movie logline it would be: "Safety, Scale, and Silicon — an unlikely love story."

There are, of course, cinematic downsides. 

Repurposing military reactors for civilian data centers would be unprecedented, and it comes with questions: 

--- Where exactly will the cores come from?

--- How will communities react to a data center humming with ex-warship steam?

--- Who signs off on the heavy-lift logistics?

....and will the reactors be less “veteran hero” and more “awkward in-law at a tech party”? 

Bloomberg and other reporting note the Hanford Site remains the default plan for ultimate disposition of many retired naval components — and moving them into commercial service would require heavy blessing from the Department of Energy.

Still, the idea has an irresistible thriftiness: recycle what already exists, skip some red tape and years of construction, and give a second life to machinery that once steamed jets off a carrier deck. 

Whether Congress, the DOE, or Oak Ridge’s neighbors will cheer sounds like a plot beat waiting for public comment and loan-guarantee paperwork — and likely a few think pieces about whether AI should be powered by naval nostalgia. 

For now, imagine a future where your chatbot’s snark is brought to you by a retired ship named Nimitz — polite, seaworthy, and slightly radioactive....


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#NavyReactorsForAI #RepurposeDontReplace #GregForeroSaysSo #OakRidgeNukes #GenesisMissionPower #AIOnCarrierJuice #ReuseTheReactor #DataCenterNuclear #FromDeckToDatacenter #NimitzSecondAct #A4WToAI #S6GMeetsSilicon #HanfordOrBust #DOEloanPlease #TechMeetsNavy

Sources Summary

  • Bloomberg reporting on HGP Intelligent Energy’s proposal to the DOE and the 450–520 MW figure. (Bloomberg)

  • Tom’s Hardware and local coverage summarizing the project scope, estimated costs ($1.8–$2.1B) and per-megawatt cost range ($1M–$4M/MW). (Tom's Hardware)

  • World Nuclear Association background on U.S. naval reactor operation safety and longevity. (World Nuclear Association)

  • Technical references on naval reactor types (A4W, S6G/S8G) and the USS Nimitz retirement reporting. (Wikipedia)

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