US greenlights first nuclear-powered AI Campus at Idaho National Laboratory

The vision of a self-sustaining, carbon-free "AI Fortress" is moving from blueprint to reality. On February 13, 2026, a multidisciplinary consortium led by Swiss-American energy firm Deep Atomic submitted its final delivery planning to the Department of Energy (DOE) to construct the nation’s first fully integrated, nuclear-powered data center campus at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

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The project is the spearhead of a broader federal initiative to utilize government land to bypass the crumbling national power grid, ensuring the U.S. maintains its lead in the global AI race.

The "Behind-the-Meter" solution

What sets the INL project apart from existing "nuclear-adjacent" data centers (like Amazon’s Pennsylvania campus) is that it is designed to be entirely "islanded" from the public utility grid.

Deep Atomic plans to deploy its proprietary MK60 Small Modular Reactor (SMR). The unit is designed to provide 60 MW of electrical power and, uniquely, 60 MW of integrated cooling capacity, recycling reactor heat to chill the massive AI server racks.

The project brings together a "dream team" of infrastructure firms, including Paragon Energy Solutions (nuclear components), Future-tech (data center engineering), and Clayco, which is leading the integrated design-build strategy.

To meet urgent AI demand, the data center will be built first, launching within 24 to 36 months using existing on-site geothermal and solar power while the nuclear reactor undergoes final certification.

The "New Manhattan Project" Strategy

The DOE’s move to lease 44,000 acres at the INL is part of a 2025 executive push to treat AI infrastructure as a national security priority.

The INL is the historic birthplace of commercial nuclear power, offering a pre-vetted environment with existing security perimeters and a workforce trained in handling atomic materials.

By co-locating power and compute, the DOE aims to eliminate the 5-to-10-year wait times currently plaguing data center developers who need to connect to the traditional electric grid.

If successful, the DOE plans to replicate this "Nuclear+AI" model at three other high-security federal sites: Oak Ridge (Tennessee), Savannah River (South Carolina), and the Paducah site (Kentucky).

Regulatory and technical hurdles

Despite the enthusiasm, the project still faces a "long runway."

To start with, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have historically struggled with regulatory delays. While the consortium hopes for a 2030s full-power launch, analysts warn that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has never approved a commercial reactor on this specific timeline.

Additionally, in a notable policy shift, the DOE recently suggested that states hosting these "AI-Nuclear" campuses may also be asked to host regional permanent waste storage facilities, potentially complicating local political support.

"Successful DOE submissions require more than innovative energy concepts. They require confidence that projects can be delivered safely and at scale," noted Bob Clark, Executive Chairman of Clayco. "We are bringing execution discipline to a groundbreaking, first-of-kind project."