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Technology

Meta Puts Out the Call for Nuclear Energy Developers

On powering data centers, China exports, and surprising pollinators

Meta Puts Out the Call for Nuclear Energy Developers
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Monsoon rains caused severe flooding in Thailand and Malaysia that left more than 30 people dead • In Germany, a recent wind lull known as a “Dunkelflaute” has led to a drop in wind power and a rise in gas-fired electricity production • It is chilly and cloudy in Paris, where French lawmakers will vote today on whether to topple the government.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Meta seeks developers for nuclear energy scale-up

Facebook parent Meta put out a call yesterday for nuclear energy developers who can add 1-4 gigawatts of new nuclear generation capacity by the early 2030s to power the tech giant’s data centers. “Advancing the technologies that will build the future of human connection — including the next wave of AI innovation — requires electric grids to expand and embrace new sources of reliable, clean and renewable energy,” the company said in its announcement. Interested developers are asked to basically write a pitch explaining their qualifications and why they should be considered for the job, with proposals due by February 7 of next year. Other big tech companies, including Amazon and Google, are also relying on nuclear to satisfy their growing energy needs as AI becomes more prevalent.

Somewhat relatedly, the International Energy Agency is hosting a conference on energy and AI today and tomorrow. Experts from the tech and energy industries (including Google’s chief sustainability officer Kate Brandt and Kairos’ head of power commercial team Jeffrey Olson) will discuss “how artificial intelligence could transform global energy systems, exploring the key opportunities and challenges ahead.”

2. China bans exports of critical minerals to U.S.

China is banning exports of some critical minerals to the U.S. in retaliation for the Biden administration’s latest decision to curb China’s access to American-made memory chips. The tit-for-tat move bans exports of gallium, germanium, antimony. These materials are key components in semiconductors, and have many varied applications in clean tech. Gallium, for example, is used in solar panels, and antimony is used to make EV battery alloys. A recent report from the U.S. Geological Survey concluded that a total Chinese export ban on gallium and germanium could cut U.S. GDP by $3.4 billion.

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  • 3. GM expects $5 billion in losses to restructure struggling China venture

    Speaking of China, General Motors is shaking up its operations in the country, sustaining more than $5 billion in losses. The company’s Chinese joint venture, known as SAIC-GM, has gone from being a success to a liability in recent years, losing ground to Chinese competitors that poured money into producing EVs and hybrids. Electric vehicles make up more than half of all car sales in China. “Almost all foreign automakers there, including European, Japanese, and South Korean companies, are struggling as increasingly ambitious Chinese car companies like BYD and Geely introduce new models and slash prices,” reportedThe New York Times, noting that BYD is likely to overtake Ford this year in global sales.

    4. Biden administration has awarded more than $100 billion from IRA

    The Biden administration this week is celebrating the milestone of awarding more than $100 billion in grants as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. “Crossing the milestone of $100 billion awarded shows just how quickly we’re getting these funds out the door and into communities so they can make a real difference for the American people,” climate envoy John Podesta toldReuters. And another official said the administration will exceed its goal of obligating more than 80% of the available IRA grant money by the end of Biden’s term, explaining that this would mean the funds are protected: “They are subject to the terms of the contract, so when those contracts are signed and executed, this becomes a matter of contract law more than a matter of politics.”

    5. Study: Arctic could see first ice-free day by 2027

    The Arctic could experience its first ice-free summer day before 2030, perhaps even by 2027, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. The international research team behind the study used multiple computer models and simulations to make the projection, which is “unlikely” but becoming more plausible as greenhouse gas emissions rise. Extreme weather events – like a series of exceptionally warm years – could trigger rapid melting leading to an ice-free day or days. Such an event could “have cascading effects on the rest of the climate system,” the authors wrote. “It would notably enhance the warming of the upper ocean, accelerating sea ice loss year round and therefore further accelerating climate change, and could also induce more extreme events at mid-latitudes.”

    THE KICKER

    Recent research suggests rare wolves in Ethiopia feed on the sweet nectar of plants known as red hot poker flowers, becoming covered in pollen in the process. This unusual behavior would make the wolves perhaps the first known large carnivores to be plant pollinators.

    Ecology journal

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    Elon Musk.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images, Tesla

    Tesla already looked beleaguered last week as a tumbling stock price tied to public anger at CEO Elon Musk wiped out more than a half-billion dollars in value. The slide erased all the gains the company had garnered since new Musk ally Donald Trump was reelected as president. On Monday the stock went into full freefall, losing 15% of its value in one day. By Tuesday, Trump had to pose with Tesla vehicles outside the White House to try to defend them.

    With a crashing market valuation and rising rage against its figurehead, Tesla’s business is in real jeopardy, something that’s true regardless of Musk’s power in the federal government. If he can’t magically right the ship this time, this self-sabotaging MAGA turn will go down as one of the great self-owns.

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    Politics

    AM Briefing: Climate Grants Terminated

    On Lee Zeldin’s announcement, coal’s decline, and Trump’s Tesla promo

    The EPA’s $20 Billion Climate Grants Have Been Terminated
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    Current conditions: Alaska just had its third-warmest winter on record • Spain’s four-year drought is nearing an end • Another atmospheric river is bearing down on the West Coast, triggering evacuation warnings around Los Angeles’ burn scars.

    THE TOP FIVE

    1. Zeldin terminates $20 billion in climate grants

    EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said yesterday he had terminated $20 billion in congressionally-approved climate change and clean energy grants “following a comprehensive review and consistent with multiple ongoing independent federal investigations into programmatic fraud, waste, abuse and conflicts of interest.”

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    Climate

    What the NOAA Layoffs Are Doing to Climate Science

    And how ordinary Americans will pay the price.

    A hand in the NOAA logo.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    No one seems to know exactly how many employees have been laid off from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — or, for that matter, what offices those employees worked at, what jobs they held, or what regions of the country will be impacted by their absence. We do know that it was a lot of people; about 10% of the roughly 13,000 people who worked at the agency have left since Donald Trump took office, either because they were among the 800 or so probationary employees to be fired late last month or because they resigned.

    “I don’t have the specifics as to which offices, or how many people from specific geographic areas, but I will reiterate that every one of the six [NOAA] line offices and 11 of the staff offices — think of the General Counsel’s Office or the Legislative Affairs Office — all 11 of those staff offices have suffered terminations,” Rick Spinrad, who served as the NOAA administrator under President Joe Biden, told reporters in a late February press call. (At least a few of the NOAA employees who were laid off have since been brought back.)

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