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Aug 31, 10:41
Interview: Taiwan's National Atomic Research Institute eyes SMRs for AI power shift
As global net-zero efforts intensify, governments and major technology companies are investing in emerging nuclear technologies to meet the huge electricity demand from AI data centers and the semiconductor industry. Because nuclear power offers zero-carbon emissions, small modular reactors (SMRs) are drawing growing attention as a potential new power solution in the AI era.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 26 declaring a national emergency over the security of America's electrical grid. It restricts the purchase, import, and installation of certain foreign-made "bulk-power system" equipment on cybersecurity and national-security grounds.
At Sustainability Environment Asia Conference 2026, Suhaimi Mansor, deputy chief executive of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, delivered a clear mandate for the nation's built environment: sustainability must transition from simple assessment to measurable, lifecycle-wide performance across buildings and infrastructure.
Nvidia's GPU roadmap is pushing 800VDC into the spotlight as a key next-generation breakthrough, with battery backup modules (BBUs) set to gain in both quality and volume as high-density AI factories shift toward the new power architecture.
The 2026 Taiwan Sustainability Summit opened in Taipei on August 25, bringing together government representatives, industry leaders, and experts from Taiwan and Germany to focus on how digital twin and industrial AI can accelerate net-zero deployment in manufacturing, buildings, energy management, and rail transport. The summit closed with a five-point joint declaration, outlining Taiwan's next 10-year development blueprint.
Taiwan's government said it will raise electricity supply capacity as it responds to rising demand from AI and industry. The comments came on August 26 at the opening of the 2026 New Energy International Forum in Taipei, where officials also pointed to gaps in public understanding of the island's power mix.
South Korea and the United States are at odds over which reactor design to build — and who runs the project — in the nuclear power component of Seoul's US investment package, according to industry sources cited by Korean outlet Edaily.
China's nuclear fusion supply chain is stepping up work on high-temperature superconducting magnet technology. At the 2026 Fusion Energy Conference on August 25, China Fusion Energy Co. (CFEC) joined Shanghai Superconductor, Eastern Superconducting, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Group, Chaomagnet New Energy, Energy Singularity Energy Technology, Hangzhou Oxygen Plant Group, and Shanghai Yixi Tech to form a Yangtze River Delta innovation consortium focused on China Circulation No. 4 and the development and engineering of high-temperature superconducting high-field tokamak magnets.
Star Trade, a unit of HD Renewable Energy, is set to debut at Semicon Taiwan 2026 next week, offering power trading and energy management services for semiconductor and AI infrastructure. The move underscores how global chipmaking and data center growth is increasing pressure on grids, renewable integration, and electricity pricing.
The Taiwan-based National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC), supported by top scientists including Nobel chemistry laureate Yuan-tseh Lee, held a celebration event on August 25 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Taiwan Photon Source (TPS).
Taiwan's circular economy has entered a new stage as the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said the sector's output has surpassed NT$1 trillion (US$31.4 billion), while calling for AI and related technologies to help narrow the pay and working-conditions gap with the semiconductor industry. The ministry made the remarks on August 25 at a joint press conference for the 2026 Taiwan Circular Economy Week with the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of the Interior, and the Public Construction Commission.
Eva Air and AIT Worldwide Logistics have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a green transport program that will use sustainable aviation fuel from Formosa Petrochemical for Microsoft cloud equipment shipments. The Taiwan-based collaboration is expected to reduce Microsoft's Scope 3 emissions by 15,000 tonnes in its first year.