US nuclear reactor construction to become faster, cheaper with Google-Westinghouse team-up

Westinghouse and Google Cloud have partnered to deploy a custom AI platform aimed at optimizing and accelerating the construction of nuclear reactors in the US. This collaboration leverages specialized AI models and integrates Westinghouse’s extensive proprietary nuclear data, including its “Hive” infrastructure and “Bertha” generative AI assistant, with Google’s predictive tools and Westinghouse’s 3D digital twin system, WNEXUS. The platform predicts bottlenecks, optimizes task sequencing, dynamically adjusts staffing, and accounts for supply chain constraints, addressing the historical delays and high costs—where construction accounts for 60% of a reactor’s total price—associated with nuclear reactor development. This technological advancement supports Westinghouse’s strategic goal to have 10 AP1000 reactors under construction by 2030, which would generate enough clean, reliable power to electrify about 7.5 million households, roughly the combined population of the five largest US cities plus several data centers. The initiative is critical as the