Masayoshi Son, chairman of SoftBank Group, proposed fusion energy as a long-term solution to meet the growing power demands of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
On July 14, during the annual SoftBank World event in Tokyo, Son stated, "Fusion will become a primary source of new energy that is cheaper, cleaner, and safer on Earth." He questioned the sustainability of continued reliance on gas power, predicting that fusion would replace gas generation within 15 years.
Son projected that by 2040, the global power capacity required for data centers could reach 3 terawatts (TW). To put this in perspective, 1 TW equals 1,000 gigawatts (GW), while the largest data centers currently operate at about 1 GW.
He estimated that building a 1 TW data center would require approximately $5 trillion (about 7,479 trillion won), anticipating a significant increase in computing demand over the next decade due to the expansion of AI.
Son expressed confidence that the revenue generated from AI services would sufficiently cover the costs of building data center infrastructure, dismissing market concerns about whether the hundreds of billions invested in AI hardware would translate into actual profits. He remarked, "Asking if AI is a bubble is a very foolish question posed by those who do not understand or properly utilize AI."
Currently, Son believes that a substantial portion of data center power demand will still be met by natural gas, which accounts for over one-fifth of global electricity generation and emits less carbon than oil or coal, though it still produces greenhouse gases during combustion.
Fusion technology harnesses the principles of energy production found in the sun and stars. Theoretically, it produces less carbon emissions and generates less long-lived radioactive waste compared to traditional nuclear fission methods. It is also considered to have a lower risk of accidents due to chain reactions.
However, experts note that significant technical and financial challenges remain before fusion can become a commercially viable energy source. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (NEF) points out that only a few countries have successfully implemented the fundamental technologies required for fusion.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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