Riot Platforms Inc. (independent renewable energy producer) and Terrestrial Energy Inc. (digital infrastructure company) have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop nuclear-powered large-scale data centers.

Combining Riot's hyperscale infrastructure expertise with Terrestrial Energy's Generation IV Integral Molten Salt Reactor technology in a partnership, the companies say, could eventually represent up to 4 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity.

A Power-First Strategy Meets Advanced Nuclear Design

The collaboration pairs two publicly traded companies, Riot Platforms trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker RIOT and Terrestrial Energy listed under IMSR, in an effort to co-locate advanced nuclear plants directly alongside data centers built for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing applications.

The partnership centers on multiple deployments of Terrestrial Energy's 390 megawatt IMSR Plants, with the two companies identifying existing Riot facilities in Texas and Kentucky as candidate sites, along with additional locations they intend to evaluate jointly.

Jason Les, CEO of Riot Platforms, said the fundamental requirements of hyperscale data center operations make nuclear an attractive pairing.

"Our data centers require reliable and predictable energy at the scale demanded by today's hyperscale customers," Les said.

"The consistent baseload of power required by data centers presents an ideal pairing for development alongside Terrestrial's IMSR Plants." Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy, described the collaboration as a means of unlocking the commercial value of IMSR technology at scale.

"Riot has proven it can build and operate large-scale digital infrastructure, and our small and modular IMSR Plant is designed to deliver the reliable, low-cost power those operations need," Irish said.

How the IMSR Plant Is Designed to Work

Terrestrial Energy's IMSR is a Generation IV reactor that uses molten salt as both a fuel carrier and a coolant.

The company describes the design as small and modular, intended for distributed deployment and capable of supplying both high-temperature industrial heat and electricity.

A key feature of the plant's design is the separation of its non-nuclear energy conversion systems, housed in what the company calls the Thermal and Electric Facility, from the regulated nuclear systems.

Terrestrial Energy says this separation provides a competitive advantage in the small modular reactor sector and enables hybrid energy configurations.

That hybrid capability is a notable element of the announced collaboration with Riot. The partnership includes a provision for incorporating natural gas as a bridge fuel to support commercial operations on an accelerated timeline and to enhance power supply resilience during the buildout of IMSR Plants.

The IMSR design allows for integration with natural gas or other fuel sources to meet site-specific needs and support early operations before full nuclear capacity comes online.

On the fuel supply side, Terrestrial Energy uses standard-assay low-enriched uranium, enriched to less than 5% U235, which the company refers to as SALEU.

The company states this fuel choice avoids supply chain complications associated with high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, which is enriched to between 15 and 20% U235 and is used by other Generation IV reactors currently in the market. Terrestrial Energy argues this distinction gives it an advantage in reaching commercial-scale deployment.

Riot's Data Center Credentials and Development Approach

Riot Platforms brings to the partnership what the company describes as a veteran data center development team with experience spanning design, engineering, construction, operations, marketing, and leasing.

The company has already developed a completed data center Basis of Design that has been optimized for large-scale hyperscale tenants, which the two partners intend to use as a template when evaluating candidate sites and scaling configurations for IMSR Plant power supply alongside data center operations.

Riot is primarily known as an industry leader in bitcoin mining infrastructure, but has been expanding its focus on large-scale data center development for broader digital applications.

The company's involvement in the nuclear partnership represents a diversification of its power strategy, with Les describing the collaboration as positioning Riot's facilities at the forefront of data center deployment using clean energy.

Scope of the Collaboration and Site Evaluation

Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, the two companies will collaborate on the customization of IMSR Plants to be integrated with Riot-developed and operated data centers.

The partnership combines Terrestrial Energy's nuclear plant design and licensing expertise with Riot's data center development and operations capabilities.

The companies say they will consider project opportunities at multiple candidate sites and will jointly evaluate additional locations beyond the existing Riot facilities already identified.

The total potential scale of the partnership is described as up to 4 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity, achieved through the deployment of multiple 390 megawatt IMSR Plants.

Terrestrial Energy is already developing IMSR Plant projects across multiple sites in the United States, leveraging what it describes as the plant's small and modular siting capabilities.

Irish framed the partnership in terms of Riot's broader strategic orientation toward power infrastructure.

"This partnership brings together two companies with sector-leading capabilities to unlock the tremendous value in IMSR Plant supply to data center operations and to build long-term strategic depth in Riot Platforms' power-first strategy," Simon said.

Industry Context for Nuclear-Powered Data Centers

The announcement reflects a broader trend in the technology and data center industries toward securing dedicated power sources that can deliver consistent baseload generation without carbon emissions.

Hyperscale data centers supporting AI workloads require large and continuous power supplies that are difficult to satisfy through intermittent renewable sources alone.

Nuclear energy, with its ability to generate power around the clock regardless of weather conditions, has attracted growing interest from data center developers and operators seeking to address power availability and reliability concerns.

Terrestrial Energy describes its IMSR Plants as capable of delivering clean, dispatchable, high-temperature energy for both electric power generation and direct industrial process-heat applications, and says their design is specifically suited for customization around data center operation as one of several potential industrial applications.