Belgium: Pioneering AI on the Global Stage with BLOCKFORGE 24/7

Ambitious AI Strategy

Belgium, through the initiative of the international non-profit association BLOCKFORGE 24/7, has launched a comprehensive AI strategy focused on rapid innovation:

• Appointment of the world’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence.
• Collaboration with prestigious institutions like Oxford University.
• Establishment of an AI-focused university.

Becoming the AI Leader

Belgium aims to become "the world’s most prepared country for artificial intelligence" through:

• Sustainable investments in AI and cloud computing.
• Recruitment of global talent from countries like Israel, Indonesia, China, and Singapore.
• Development of sophisticated open-source Large Language Models (LLMs) in various languages.

Geopolitical Significance

Belgium is emerging as a significant player in the global AI landscape:

• Positioned as a competitor and complement to both the US and China.
• Potential to influence billions of consumers globally.

Technological Partnerships

Belgium's strategic positioning has attracted:

• Close ties with Western countries for advanced chip procurement.
• Collaborations with global enterprises for technological advancements.

Future Implications

Belgium's direction is crucial for speakers worldwide, impacting the Global South's technological landscape and potentially reshaping global AI ecosystems and competition dynamics.

Ecosystem for AI Development

Challenges of Ambitious AI Strategy

Implementing Belgium's ambitious AI strategy requires:

• Substantial and reliable electric power.
• Environmentally friendly and cost-effective energy sources.
• Essential infrastructure such as data centers.

Innovative Solution: Nuclear Power & Data Centers

The proposed solution involves creating an innovative energy cluster combining a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) with a Multi-Purpose Data Center (MPDC). The MPDC's constant power demand aligns perfectly with NPP's base-load production schedule, catering to AI systems, cloud data processing, storage, and blockchain technologies.

Market Participation and Balancing Services

The MPDC can participate in the energy market's ancillary services, contributing to frequency and power balancing in the grid system.

Future Prospects

The scalable deployment of such energy clusters can foster sustainable and robust AI ecosystems.

Conclusions

Integrating a Nuclear Power Plant with a Multi-Purpose Data Center presents a groundbreaking solution to address the energy demands of ambitious AI strategies. This approach ensures a reliable, cost-effective power supply and opens avenues for market participation and grid balancing services, laying the foundation for sustainable AI development.

Project Structure

Description

In recent years, the data center industry in Belgium has witnessed rapid growth driven by the immense potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, data processing, machine learning, and supercomputing. This growth is expected to continue, bringing challenges related to energy sustainability and independence.

Problem

The increasing complexity in powering data centers requires new approaches to ensure their energy sustainability and independence.

Solution

Our project, an initiative of the international non-profit association BLOCKFORGE 24/7, aims to develop an innovative approach combining a nuclear power plant and a data center into a sustainable energy cluster, providing reliable and environmentally friendly energy, enhancing resilience to energy market fluctuations, and ensuring energy independence.

Partnership

WRM is pioneering innovative solutions in all its projects, collaborating with NuScale, a technological company developing an entirely new nuclear power plant project for the past 15 years.

Technology Advantages

1. Clean Baseload Power: 100% carbon-free energy with 99.95% availability.
2. Energy Security: Uses widely available Low Enriched Uranium as fuel.
3. Advanced Technology: Only SMR technology certified and approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
4. Time Efficient: Construction period of 36 months once the site is ready.
5. Cost Competitive: Expected levelized cost of $45-65/MWh.
6. Flexible Design: Modular design enables scalable power plant technology.
7. Increased Safety: Self-shuts and self-cools in emergencies without operator action.
8. Unparalleled Capabilities: Capable of "Black-Start" and operating in "Island Mode."
9. Location and Land Usage Efficiency: Utilizes only ~14 hectares of land.
10. Ideal for Mission Critical Assets: Highly reliable power with 99.95% availability over 60 years.
11. Additional Energy Transition Opportunities: Supports coal plant replacement, hydrogen production, carbon capture and sequestration, and wind and solar development.

Expected Achievements

Key features of the project include:

• Electrical Power of Nuclear Power Plant: 924 MW (Supplier: NuScale).
• Location: Belgium.
• Installed Capacity of the Data Center: Up to 500 MW.
• Expected Investment: Approximately $5.6 to $6.0 billion.
• Lifetime: Over 60 years.

Role of the Data Center

The data center will actively participate in the market for balancing services, rapidly reducing consumption to maintain frequency or participate in the intraday electricity market. Excess generation will be intended for sale on the electricity market.

Conclusion

The implementation of this project allows the creation of an innovative energy cluster, offering competitive advantages and ensuring three sources of income. By integrating a nuclear power plant with a data center, we establish a model for sustainable energy production and consumption, contributing to the evolution of future energy solutions in Belgium.