The significant knock-on effects of investment into the nuclear sector by big tech will see supply chains gear up, the nuclear workforce grow and reactor designs licensed and approved, clearing the way for utilities – and potentially other industrial players – to move more rapidly on their own deployment of nuclear, the Canadian Nuclear Association (CAN) said.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft have all said in recent weeks that they plan to use nuclear reactors to power their growth.

According to the CNA, the fact that the big tech players are set to pay a premium for the power supplied by small modular reactors means that, in a sense, they are now subsidising the rejuvenation of the American nuclear supply chain.