PreussenElektra, the E.ON subsidiary that specializes in decommissioning and dismantling nuclear plants, has teamed up with Nvidia to check whether its former power station sites could house AI data centers, DCD reports. The work is framed as the first step in an evaluation process, not a development plan.
The companies will look at existing energy and site infrastructure and at available land, then judge whether these meet the technical and operational demands of high-performance AI facilities. PreussenElektra supplies knowledge of the sites, their infrastructure and the relevant framework conditions. Nvidia assesses what AI data centers require and sketches possible technical site concepts. Together they will then decide which sites merit closer study, and under what conditions.
PreussenElektra argues that plant sites with large industrial areas, high-capacity grid connections and established infrastructure fit the profile for data center use. Nvidia's regional director Markus Hacker said that AI factories need "access to power, land and high-capacity infrastructure", the same attributes the utility highlights.
The companies describe the review as open-ended and say no specific investment or site decisions have been made. They have also not said how any data centers would be powered, which is a central question for any campus of this kind. DCD notes that PreussenElektra is currently responsible for eight of the roughly 30 former nuclear plants being dismantled in Germany, and that these are likely the sites under review. That is the publication's inference rather than a confirmed list.
Germany has no operating nuclear plants. It permanently shut its last ones in April 2023.
The tie-up follows other nuclear-related moves by Nvidia. In July it joined Idaho National Laboratory, AWS and several small modular reactor companies on the Prometheus project, which aims to speed advanced nuclear deployment using AI. That initiative was one of 278 selected under the Genesis Mission Request for Applications.
Why it matters: Decommissioned plant sites combine land, industrial infrastructure and grid access, which are scarce for AI capacity. Because the agreement is a feasibility study with no committed sites, investment or power plan, it signals interest rather than a pipeline.
TwinStack automated analysis, based on reporting by DCD. Check the original for full details.