In a major development for nuclear energy infrastructure, Westinghouse Electric Company and Google Cloud have joined forces to deploy a custom AI-powered platform aimed at streamlining and accelerating the construction of advanced nuclear reactors. The initiative seeks to overcome decades-long delays and cost overruns traditionally associated with nuclear plant construction.
The platform integrates Westinghouse’s proprietary nuclear-specific AI systems (HiVE™ and Bertha™) with Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, Gemini, BigQuery, and other tools. Combined with a 3D digital twin of reactor designs (WNEXUS), the system can automatically generate and optimise construction work plans — predicting bottlenecks, optimising task sequences, adjusting staffing levels, and accounting for supply-chain or weather disruptions.
Early pilot tests of the system reportedly achieved significant time and cost savings, reducing construction scheduling uncertainty and enabling much faster project execution.
The partnership underpins a larger ambition: to have 10 of Westinghouse’s advanced reactors under construction by 2030, aiming to meet surging electricity demand — in part driven by data-center expansion and AI growth — while delivering safer, cleaner, and predictable nuclear energy.
With AI’s entry into reactor construction, the companies hope to set a new benchmark for speed, reliability, and cost-effective deployment in the nuclear sector.
