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Cooling towers at the Dampierre-en-Burly nuclear power plant, operated by Electricite de France SA (EDF), in Dampierre-en-Burly, France, on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. EDF's falling nuclear production, combined with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is exacerbating Europe's energy crisis as France is traditionally a net exporter of electricity. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SoftBank' s plan to invest 75 billion euros in building AI infrastructure in France underscored the nation's status as a leading hub, but Big Tech's lofty energy demands will put the wider continent's grid to the test, analysts say. Japan's SoftBank on Saturday announced plans to build 3.1 GW of AI data centers in the northern Hauts-de-France region, including new sites in Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain, by 2031. With over 60% of its power needs met by nuclear power, France is particularly well-placed to manage such an energy-intensive project at a time when Europe is grappling with some of the highest industrial electricity prices among major economies. This is a key advantage as power-hungry data centers make investments particularly sensitive to energy costs, pushing companies toward parts of Europe with lower power costs, experts previously told CNBC.
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Prices for energy-intensive industries in Europe last year were on average roughly double those in the U.S. and 50% higher than in China and India, according to the International Energy Agency. Analysts told CNBC in May that they see a strong argument for increasing the prominence of nuclear power as a key component of European nations' energy strategy to help manage the demands of data centers. As of 2025, nuclear comprised just 11.8% of Europe's total energy mix, while oil and gas still accounted for over a third, according to Eurostat data.
Data center operators look to the next decade of power
Small modular reactors, or SMRs, have caught the eye of Big Tech firms in the United States. In 2024, Amazon announced an agreement with Dominion Energy, Virginia's utility company, to explore SMR development. In 2025, Google followed suit, entering into an agreement with Kairos Power and the TVA for a new nuclear plant. These factory-built nuclear power plants are much smaller than traditional reactors, typically capable of 300 megawatts or less. SMRs are usually designed to be mass-produced and shipped to sites for faster and cheaper installation than traditional reactors, which often take over a decade to come online. They do not require grid connection to work, either, which offers another key benefit to data center providers. Rolling SMRs out en masse, however, will be a challenge, according to the energy team at law firm Baker McKenzie.